The Mewni School for Royalty
by AveryBookNerd
Summary: After escaping an arranged marriage and giving up everything to be with the man she loves, Star is happily married to Marco and has a beautiful daughter named Selene. But when a mysterious letter arrives for Selene, Star realizes that the past may not be as buried as she'd hoped. Sequel to Our Fairytale. READ PROFILE!
1. The Mewni School for Royalty

The Mewni School For Royalty

 **Avery:** Well hello there my pretties. Welcome to the sequel to Our Fairytale. If you have not read Our Fairytale, please do so before reading this. If not you will be very confused. I'm sorry this took two years to write, but sometimes things take time. I mean, how long has it been since the last George R. R. Martin book? There isn't even a predicted release date for the next one! Anyways, for those of you who followed Our Fairytale, thank you, I appreciate your continued support and I hope that you enjoy the first chapter of The Mewni School for Royalty.

* * *

Everything hurt. Everything inside of her felt like fire. Raging, raving, a destruction of her entire being. The sensation felt as though something was trying to claw itself out of her from the inside. Something inside of her was clawing, screeching, desperately trying to escape. The feeling of broken glass beneath her lingered as she lay on the broken shards.

 _You did this_. The words echoed in her head, playing back like a broken record. _This is the destruction you created._

Another sharp pain stabbed into her stomach, a pain that felt like the twisting of a rusty blade lingered on her skin. There was no blood, only pain. And she was screaming. The shrill cry of the young girl echoed throughout the empty castle. Her eyes were empty, hollow, as she stared up at the tall figure before her.

"I'm sorry," She heard his soft voice cracking as he gently caressed her face. "But this is our only option."

With tears in her eyes, she quickly nodded and braced herself for oblivion.

 _~August~_

Selene had made only thirteen wishes in her life. She didn't believe in copper pennies, or twinkling stars shooting across the night sky, and throwing a nickel into a fountain only meant she was five cents poorer. Nothing in life was truly magical or special enough to make a wish. To Selene, one could only make a special wish on a special day, or it wouldn't come true. It absolutely had to be a special day, a truly magical day. A day when she turned a full year older, a day just for her. Today was the day she would make her fourteenth wish.

Selene spent all day considering it. She found that in previous years she had wished for things that weren't really wish-worthy. When she was five she wished for an infinite supply of cookies, when she was ten she wished for an A on her next math test. She felt as though every wish that she had ever made had been wasted on something that wasn't all that life changing. And all Selene wanted on her fourteenth birthday was for something exciting to happen. But so far the day was normal, all she had done was sit down at the kitchen table and pour herself a bowl of cereal.

"Selene! Selene, my queen!" She heard a cheery voice yell, followed by the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut.

The voice belonged to Selene's best friend, Romy. A petite girl with a sweet exterior but a rather eccentric and hot-headed personality. The girl stood in the doorway, she had a sweet smile on her face and she had two ice creams in her hand.

"What are you eating?" Romy gestured to Selene's breakfast accusingly.

Selene raised an eyebrow at her peculiar best friend.

"A balanced and nutritious breakfast?" Selene replied.

Romy shook her head. "Birthdays are not for nutrition, they're for eating ice cream for breakfast."

Romy shoved the ice cream into her best friend's hand.

"What would your moms say about eating ice cream for breakfast?" Selene chuckled, taking a large bite of the cold treat.

Romy shrugged. "Depends on which one you ask."

Selene jokingly shoved her best friend.

"I'm also bringing cupcakes, cookies, and enough cheese puffs to feed the army." Romy continued, listing things off on her fingers.

Selene's grin widened. "Romily Beth Thomas-Ordonia, are you trying to fatten me up?"

"Like that's possible." Romy rolled her eyes and poked the other girl's flat stomach.

The two girls erupted in uncontrollable giggles, only to stop when they heard a third voice.

"I hope that you two aren't eating ice cream for breakfast without me." The voice said.

The voice belonged to a woman with short, blonde, hair and a sweet smile on her face. Selene's mom was a smart and kind woman who seemed to always be smiling. Selene admired the fact that although her mother was a mature adult, she never lost her child-like sense of wonder and imagination. Sometimes her head seemed to be up in outer space, quite fitting for someone with a name like Star.

"Good morning, Star." Romy greeted with a mouth full of ice cream.

"Good morning Romy," Star replied with a smile before wrapping her arms around Selene and kissing her cheek. "Happy birthday, sweetheart." She whispered sweetly before sauntering over to the other side of the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee.

Selene had a good relationship with her parents. She felt very fortunate because her parents were good people. They weren't too overbearing or overprotective, they didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do. They listened to her and respected her, and she respected them in return.

"Thanks, mom," Selene replied. "Is dad joining us for breakfast?"

"He went to the bakery to pick up your cake," Star replied. "He'll be back soon."

Selene nodded and returned to eating her ice cream, unaware of the melancholy smile spread across her mother's face. She remembered her fourteenth birthday, how excited she had been, how she was so certain that her life was going to change. She missed the days when she could be carefree and worry free. But now, although she tried so hard to give her daughter freedom and independence, she constantly worried. If there was one thing that Star feared more than anything, it was becoming the parent that her mom was. All of the pressure that her mother had put on her when she was younger. The complete disregard for her own daughter's livelihood. All the times she had forced Star to do things she never wanted to do.

The sound of the door opening and closing seemed to shake Star out of her thoughts as her husband walked into the kitchen with a large white box.

"Daddy!" Selene cheered, standing from her seat and hugging her father tightly around the waist.

Marco nearly stumbled back, but managed to keep his footing.

"Careful, sweetheart, you don't want your cake to be ruined," Marco warned, gently placing the cake box on the kitchen counter before returning the hug and kissing the top of Selene's head. "Happy birthday."

Star took a deep breath. She may have worried about how her life would turn out, she worried she'd become the kind of parent that her mother was, and she worried that giving up her wand and her kingdom was the wrong choice. But after all that happened, after all the lies and betrayal that she had faced the last time she was on Mewni, she felt that her decision was justified. Besides, if she had stayed to rule Mewni, she would have missed out on having a completely mundane human life on Earth with the man she loved.

"Now unless you want to wear pyjamas to your birthday party I suggest you get changed." Marco advised.

Selene looked down at her attire, an oversized shirt and pants with tiny pictures of yellow rubber ducks on them.

"Marco, don't you know rubber duck pyjamas are the new hip thing?" Romy said jokingly.

"Yeah, dad." Selene agreed.

"I know what the hip thing is." Marco retorted.

"I think you know more about throwing a hip out." Selene chuckled.

"How old do you think I am?" Marco jokingly threw his arms up in the air.

The two girls chuckled and disposed of their empty ice cream cones.

"I'll see you at the party." Romy declared, hugging her best friend before darting out of the house.

Selene ran quickly up the stair to her room, hoping to wash her hair and change before her guests arrived, leaving her parents alone in the kitchen. Star began to clean and put away the dishes, Marco giving her a knowing look from across the kitchen. She locked eyes with him, then looked at the floor.

"You know what I'm going to say." Marco leaned against the kitchen counter, arms folded across his chest.

"I'm not ready." Star spoke softly. "How am I supposed to explain everything to her?"

Marco sighed heavily. The two had agreed that they would eventually tell Selene the truth about where her mother came from, but they never had the courage to do so. But now Selene was fourteen, the age when Butterfly girls would receive their wands and begin their training to rule the kingdom. However, there was no kingdom, not anymore at least. Therefore, Selene knew nothing of magic, or other dimensions, or her royal heritage. And she would never, ever, find out.

Or at least, that's what Star thought.

In the room just above them, Selene was laying out possible outfits for her party. Carefully placing the garments strategically to decide which outfit would look the best. Should she wear the white romper or the crochet top with high waisted shorts? Which would look better with the shoes she had picked out? The fourteen year old narrowed her eyes in concentration. Oh, decisions, decisions.

She was zipping up the white romper when she noticed something bright flashed out of the corner of her eye. Curiosity took over as her eyes grew wide and nearly jumped out of her skin. She gaped in awe at the shower of gold that had appeared above her head. She could hardly move, watching in shock as the golden light rained down around her, like a firework show. And then, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving an envelope in its place. The envelope floated gently down from the ceiling and landed daintily on Selene's duvet.

She rubbed her eyes, assuming that she had imagined the spectacular light show and letter appearing seemingly out of thin air. Cautiously, Selene picked up the envelope that had seemed to pop into existence. It looked like a regular envelope, although there was no stamp or return address. How odd. Selene slowly ripped open the envelope and pulled out the small notecard inside.

Upon reading the words, written neatly in swirly gold lettering, Selene let out a loud gasp. She dropped the note card and took a deep breath. A dream. This had to be a dream, or a joke. Or maybe she had just been mistaken. Maybe she misread the letter. Selene picked up the note again, but the words hadn't changed.

 _Dear Princess Selene,_

 _King Alexander Helios welcomes ye, to the Mewni School for Royalty_.

* * *

 **Avery:** Well, that was fun. Sorry it took so long, I had it ready in July but then I reread it and realized I didn't portray any of the characters the way I wanted to so I rewrote all of chapter one. And now I'm in the process of rewriting chapter two. Chapter two might come slow, but its coming.

Now before anyone comes to me with pitchforks demanding to know why I made Queen Moon a bad guy, when I wrote Our Fairytale there was only one episode of SVTFOE and therefore there is some unintentional au stuff going on here. I did change Queen Moon's backstory to fit this fic's narrative which will be revealed in a later chapter.

I hope that you enjoyed!


	2. The Letter

The Letter

 **Avery:** Chapter two is here for you! I didn't think I'd finish before September tbh, but here we are. Selene has gotten her Hogwarts letter and certain powers awaken within her.

* * *

Selene read and reread the note what seemed like a million times. She assumed that she had misread it the first time, and the second. The words could not have said what she thought they said. But there they were, written in elegant black letters across a cream coloured parchment. The young girl's grip on the paper tightened, leaving crinkles in the previously pure document. The words, although in English, seemed foreign to her as she looked down at the mysterious letter.

 _"Dear Princess Selene,"_

Princess. She wasn't sure whether to laugh at the word or scoff at it. Princess. She was anything but. Sure, her father had sometimes referred to her as 'his little princess' when she was a child, but she had long since grown out of that. When she was younger, the word evoked images of a beautiful girl who sang to animals and wore pretty dresses, but now when she thought about someone being called a princess, it usually meant that they were actually a spoiled brat.

 _"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Mewni School for Royalty._

 _You will find enclosed a list of items that you are allowed to bring, uniforms will be provided._

 _The carriage will arrive on the first of September at 10 am sharp, we look forward to meeting you."_

This had to be a joke. Someone had to be pulling a prank on her. With a scoff and a roll of her eyes, she tossed the piece of paper into the recycling bin. Princess Selene. What a laugh that was. She wasn't royalty. And why would she want to be? She had a perfectly normal life and she was completely content with that.

Selene turned away from the bin and began pulling a brush through her dark curls, when she heard a strange rattling coming from the recycling bin. Selene turned and stared at the bin, finding quite the curious sight. Selene's eyes widened, she was so shocked that she didn't notice that she dropped her hairbrush, nor heard the clatter as it hit the hardwood floor. The small bin was overflowing with a shower of glittering gold that seemed to evaporate before it hit the floor. The small bin seemed to rattle from side to side before tipping over and spilling the contents of the bin. Paper scattered across the floor, covering Selene's already cluttered room. And then there was the mysterious letter, shooting across the room and hovering in front of the young girl. The paper was in pristine condition, and no longer the crumpled mess she had left it in. Selene's mouth fell open, her breathing seemed to stop. This was either a dream or she was going crazy.

Selene felt herself fall backwards onto the bed, the letter landing daintily in her lap. She didn't want it. Hastily, she threw the paper to the ground, joining the crumpled up pieces of paper that had fallen out of the waste basket. Selene took a few deep breaths, trying to recollect herself. When she was certain that she was calm, she slowly stood up from the bed and threw the paper back into the basket, making sure that she ripped up the mysterious parchment in the process. Her eyes widened as she witnessed the ripped up pieces magically put themselves back together in her hand, like the pieces of a puzzle. Selene couldn't move, she was too shocked by what had transpired before her eyes. There was no way.

She tried ripping up the parchment again, but no matter how hard she ripped, she didn't even make a tear. Selene felt her breath becoming shallow. Something weird was going on. Something very, very weird. She was dreaming, she had to be. She barely registered her knees giving way underneath her, or falling to the floor.

A dream. She had to be dreaming. Or hallucinating? Maybe she shouldn't have eaten ice cream for breakfast, the sugar was definitely doing something to her head. Selene could feel the envelope vibrating in her hand, the parchment began to grow warmer as though it was glowing. How was such a thing even possible?

"Selene?" She heard her mother's voice call, accompanied by a knock on the door. "Are you alright? I heard a loud noise?"

Selene was about to reply, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She could feel panic rising in her chest, she couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she was terrified. The knocking came again, a bit more urgent this time.

"Selene?" Star sounded worried now, but Selene couldn't make words come out of her mouth.

She was vaguely aware when the door creaked open, she was too focused on the glowing note in her hand. Impossible. It was impossible. Her mother was going to look at her like she was crazy, she just knew it. She was going to be sent to the looney bin, and on her birthday nonetheless. Selene only registered her mother's arms around her as she helped her up and onto the bed. Star crouched down slightly so that she could be eye-level with her daughter, a look of concern washing over her face.

"Selene, sweetheart, breathe." Star spoke calmly, she gently placed her hand over her daughter's as the younger girl's breathing returned to a steady pace. Star's eyes travelled slowly down to the paper in her hands. Her mouth fell open slightly. "What is this?"

Selene let her mother take the letter, she wanted the thing out of her sight. Her brain couldn't make sense of what she had seen. She had to be imagining things. It had to be a trick of the light or something. Paper didn't glow. Nor did it fly or float in mid air. But what if it was- no. Selene wanted to laugh at the idea. She knew that it couldn't be real. It couldn't be magic, there was no such thing.

Selene had been caught up in her own thoughts that she had completely missed the look of absolute terror in her mother's eyes as she read the letter. Star had not felt fear in a very long time, not like this. She felt her whole body shake as she held the paper in her hand. No, she wouldn't let her baby go. She had kept this part of her world from Selene for a reason, and there was no way she would ever let Selene find out the truth. Star forced a smile onto her face.

"Oh, it's just one of those joke letters." Star forced a laugh. "It's none of your concern, sweetheart."

"Mom, it was flying, and glowing, and I couldn't get rid of it." Selene managed to stutter.

Internally, Star was cursing the day she left Mewni to that man, but externally she kept the same happy smile on her face.

"Oh, it's nothing." Star gently kissed Selene's forehead. "Just get ready for the party, alright? Don't think about this anymore."

Star could tell that Selene had questions, many of them, but Star quickly dashed out of the room with the letter in hand, leaving the teenage girl sitting on her bed in a state of confusion. Star rushed to her room and placed the letter down on her boudoir, and let out a long breath. She saw her husband's face appear from behind the bathroom door. A look of concern washed over his face when he noticed his wife's distressed state.

"Star?" He asked calmly. "What's wrong?"

"Selene got a letter." Star replied, handing the note to Marco.

Marco read over the letter, his eyes widening in shock.

"Did she read it?" He asked.

"She said that it flew around her room and started glowing." Star fretted.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Oh." He dragged the syllable out for a few seconds.

"I told her not to worry about it." Star responded, running her fingers through her blonde locks. "She looked so scared and confused, and I just panicked and I told her not to worry about it."

Star sat down on the chaise and looked at herself in the mirror, suddenly regretting every decision she had made to keep her life a secret from Selene.

"I wanted to protect her." She said meekly.

Marco gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You need to tell her." Marco sighed. "It has to be tonight."

"I know," Star replied, taking a deep breath. "I'm just scared."

"I know, but this might be long overdue." Marco replied, placing a soft kiss on his wife's cheek.

Star picked up the letter and looked at it for a long moment.

"Now what to do with this." Star wondered aloud.

When she had left Mewni, she never would have imagined that there would one day be a school in the castle that she once lived in. And she never would have thought that Alexander of all people would invite her daughter to a special school for royal children. Selene didn't even know that she was royal. Maybe she should call him. She still had a mirror, and those scissors, even if the magical items had not been used since Selene's birth. She should reason with him. Tell him that Selene's life was meant to be one of her own choosing. She shouldn't be forced to go to school in a foreign dimension.

"We'll deal with it after the party." Marco decided, taking his wife's hand gently. "It's our daughter's birthday, we should be thinking only of her."

He was right. Star should focus only on making her daughter's birthday the best. She could forget about the letter for a few hours, she could be happy.

And hours later, Selene's birthday party was in full swing. The fourteen year old was sitting with her friends, chatting and laughing like a normal teenager should. But even though she was smiling from ear to ear, her mind was elsewhere. She could only think about the mysterious letter and the strange way it had flown around her room and glowed. The letter was peculiar, but that seemingly magical note wasn't the only thing on her mind. Her mother had acted so strange when she found her on the floor with the letter. She didn't seem shocked, she didn't ask where the letter had come from. She simply laughed it off as though it were a joke and left her alone. Her mother had always had an eccentric personality, but there was something odd about the way she reacted. While Star had laughed it off, Selene knew her mother well enough to recognize that she sounded nervous.

"Got your head in the clouds again?" Romy asked between bites of her cupcake. When Selene didn't answer Romy leaned in closer to her, making sure only her friend could hear. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"

Selene absentmindedly nodded, passively observing her party. She should be having more fun than this.

' _Something must have happened, she hasn't touched her cupcake.'_

Selene turned her head sharply to look at her friend. The voice sounded exactly like Romy's, but her friend's lips hadn't moved.

"Did you say something?" Selene asked slowly.

"No." Romy replied, a look of concern crossing her face.

 _'Is she okay? She seemed fine this morning. Did I miss something?'_

Romy's voice continued to echo in Selene's head even though her lips remained unmoved. Romy opened her mouth to speak, but Selene simply stood abruptly and marched into the house, muttering something about needing to use the bathroom. Selene waited until she got inside before sprinting to the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. Her breathing became shallow and her legs felt weak. She was going crazy. She had to be. She couldn't have been hearing Romy's thoughts. She just had to breathe. She was going to be okay as long as she kept breathing.

"Selene?" She heard her mother yell through the door. "Are you in there?"

Selene took a breath and opened the door, looking up at her mother's smiling face. Selene could tell that her mother was hiding fear behind that smile.

 _'I shouldn't have left her alone_.'

That was her mother's voice. Great, now she was hearing her mom too.

"I'm fine," Selene replied, forcing a smile on her face. "I just wanted to, uh- fix my hair."

Star nodded, a feeling of relief washing over her.

"Okay, we're going to bring out the cake now." Star told her, turning away from her daughter.

' _And then I have a lot of explaining to do_.'

"What?" Selene asked.

Star turned abruptly, her mouth falling open.

"Did you say something?" Selene asked again.

Star's face immediately fell.

"Did you hear something?" Star spoke so fast that Selene almost missed the question.

"No." Selene lied.

Star's body visibly relaxed as she took the cake from the white bakery box and began lighting the candles. Selene followed her back out to the party, and she stood in front of the cake while friends and family sang to her.

Selene smiled for them. But she couldn't focus on anything but the sound. The voices that surrounded her, the voices that were coming seemingly out of nowhere. And when it came time to make her fourteenth wish, she knew exactly what to wish for.

' _I wish I knew what the hell is going on_.'

* * *

 **Avery:** Oh, Selene has some interesting new found powers... This is going to be an interesting conversation. Star has a lot of explaining to do. hehe.


	3. The Truth

The Truth

 **Avery:** Chapter trois! In which Star and Marco have a lot of explaining to do. Enjoy mes amis!

* * *

Selene sat on her bed, listening to the sound of her parent's voices as they spoke in their room across the hall. She couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but she could hear them, they seemed to be pacing and they sounded unsure. She had no idea what was going on, but her parent's unsettling behaviour caused her to feel uneasy. She wanted to ask, she needed to know what was happening to her. All day other people's voices swarmed her brain, voices that were not really there. Even as her guests were leaving, their voices screamed in her brain, and she couldn't stop them. She was terrified, was she going insane? She had to be. First the strange magical light and the letter, now she was hearing voices in her head. She felt panic coursing through her, she felt like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Selene held her head in her hands and tried her best to breathe. Deep breaths, she tried to convince herself that everything was okay, but with the events that had transpired, it wasn't easy. All Selene could think about was how she was going to get sent to an asylum and live out the rest of her life in a padded room.

It was only when the door to her bedroom creaked open that she found herself able to breathe again. Her parents stepped into her room, they both looked like they were trying to smile, but they didn't seem natural and it didn't make Selene feel any calmer. Nobody said anything as Star and Marco sat down on either side of their daughter, but Selene could hear them, their voices were loud in her head.

' _I never thought telling her the truth would be like this._ ' That was her father's voice.

' _It's been a long time since I've talked about Mewni_.' That was her mother.

Selene didn't know what to think of this. Why did her parents seem so tense? And what the heck was a Mewni? These and so many other questions plagued her mind as she waited for her parents to speak. And hopefully, explain what was going on.

"Sweetheart," Star finally spoke, taking a shaky breath as she did. "Your father and I owe you an explanation, about why there was a flying letter in your room this morning."

Selene looked into her mother's eyes, acknowledging just how much fear she held within them.

"So it was real?" Selene confirmed. "I haven't gone insane?"

Marco gently rubbed his daughter's back comfortingly.

"No," He told her. "You aren't."

The reassurance allowed her to relax a bit, if only for a moment.

"Selene, there's something I need to tell you. I should have told you a long time ago," Star continued. "But I never knew how to explain this to you." Star took another breath. "I am not actually from California, I am actually a magical princess from a dimension called Mewni."

 _What the f-_

Selene didn't even get to open her mouth before Star continued. "And now my ex-intended is inviting you to said alternate dimension to attend his school."

Selene began to think that maybe her mother was the crazy one.

"Slow down, Star," Marco calmly reminded her. "She might be a bit overwhelmed."

Selene shook her head.

"I'm not overwhelmed," Selene responded. "Just confused."

Selene turned to her mother again.

"You mean to tell me that there are multiple dimensions?" Selene asked, Star nodded. "And you are from one of these dimensions and you're a princess?" Star nodded again.

"I know that it seems a bit hard to believe, but magic is real. And so are monsters, and unicorns, and fairies, everything, it's all real." Star replied, she motioned towards Marco and he handed her a pair of scissors. "And I would like to show you."

Star held the scissors in her hands, it had been a long time since she last held these, they felt heavier than she remembered.

"These scissors will take you anywhere you want to go." Star explained. "Any place, name it."

"Dairy Queen." Selene replied. "I want a cookie dough blizzard."

Star and Marco looked at each other, sharing a mutual glance of pride before Star stood up and began to cut the portal. Star watched Selene's eyes light up as the bright blue sphere appeared in the air where he mother had cut. Star smiled, remembering the joy of seeing someone who hadn't grown up with magic witnessing it for the first time. With wide eyes, Selene tentatively reached out to touch the light, her hand slipping through the portal. She gasped and quickly drew her hand back. Selene turned to her mother, a mixture of shock and wonder spread across her face.

"Go ahead," Star encouraged, her sweet smile returning to her face. "We're right behind you."

Selene stood back for a moment, closing her eyes before stepping into the sphere. And when she opened them the Dairy Queen stood right in front of her. She gasped, turning to see her parents smiling at her.

"It's real." Selene gasped, she couldn't stop the uncontrollable smile that washed over her face.

"Let's get your ice cream," Marco opened the door for his wife and daughter. "Then we can sit down and explain the rest."

It was in a Dairy Queen booth with a mouthful of ice cream that she learned the truth about her mother's past. How she grew up in a kingdom called Mewni, inherited a wand when she was fourteen, and came to Earth that same year. She told Selene about all of the adventures she had, how she fell in love with Earth and its culture, so much so that Mewni's old-fashioned ways became more and more undesirable to her. She learned that she wanted more than to be somebody's wife and produce an heir, she wanted to learn. And she did.

"So who is Alexander?" Selene asked. The name had been running through her mother's head all throughout the conversation.

Star and Marco exchanged a knowing glance.

"Just before we went off to university," Star began explaining. "My mother came to pick me up, she told me that I had no choice but to marry a prince, his name was Alexander of Byzantium."

Selene stared intently, waiting for her mother to continue. She noticed tears begin to well up in her mother's eyes, and her gaze softened.

"It was shortly after my father was murdered." Star's voice cracked. Selene let out a tiny gasp. "He was killed by my Uncle Nero, who wanted to become king. But I threw him in the dungeon and banished Mother from ever returning to Mewni."

' _She was so terrible._ ' Star's voice rang in Selene's head as she looked down into her ice cream sadly.

"She must have been if she forced you to become engaged to a man you didn't love." Selene spoke against her better judgement.

Star and Marco looked up at Selene, equal looks of shock and horror appearing on their faces.

"What?" Star asked, astonished.

"How did you get out of the wedding?" Selene asked, quickly changing the subject.

"We called it off once I arrested my Mother and Uncle." Star explained. "He didn't want to marry me, and he wasn't my type anyway, too brash and irritable. Granted, I haven't seen him in years, he must be different now, has to be if he's running both Byzantium and Mewni."

"Both?" Selene's eyes widened. "You left him the kingdom? Why did you do that?"

Star smiled solemnly. "I found something I loved, and when you find something you love, you need to fight for it."

"Oh," Selene replied. "And the school?"

"I guess that's ultimately your choice." Marco chimed. "If you want to go, it's your decision."

 _'I wasn't given a choice. I want her to have her's.'_ That was her mother's voice again.

Selene had always known that she was lucky, her parents had always trusted her to make smart choices, while she listened to her friends at school complain about how overbearing and strict their parents were. She knew she had it good. But it never occurred to her that her mother had been so open and accepting of her because her own mother had never been like that.

The offer was nice, but Selene had no intention of going to a school in another dimension. She and Romy had homeroom together and lunch, plus she had her own locker next to the cafeteria.

"I'll pass." Selene answered. "I think I'd rather go to a regular, non-magical school that isn't populated by princesses."

Star smiled and hugged Selene.

' _I'm glad we finally told her._ ' Her father's voice filled her head again. ' _Selene would be proud_.'

Selene pulled away from her mother's hug and stared at her father quizzically.

"I am proud." Selene replied. Her parent's eyes grew wide again. Oh right, she forgot to tell them that she could hear their thoughts.

"Selene," Fear returned to Star's face, the words caught in her throat. "What am I thinking right now?"

' _Say 'red' if this is real._ '

"Red." Selene replied cautiously.

"Oh my god." Star gasped.

 _'Selene_.'

"We're going home." Star said urgently, pulling out the scissors and producing another portal. "Right now."

Selene only nodded and stepped into the portal, finding her living room on the other side.

"Why didn't you say something about the mind reading?" Star asked.

"Well, before you told me that magic was real I thought that I was going crazy." Selene explained. "And after that I got so caught up in your story that I just forgot to tell you."

Star sighed. ' _I need to have a conversation with that man.'_

"Is mind reading bad?" Selene's voice was soft and cautious as she spoke.

"No." Marco quickly told her. 'Hopefully _I'm wrong and it's just mind reading_.'

Just mind reading? Selene raised a brow. "What do you mean by-"

"It's just that someone will need to teach you how to control it." Marco replied quickly, it sounded almost like he was back-pedalling. "And since there are no magic tutors on Earth we'd have to-"

"We'll figure it out in the morning." Star interrupted, she turned to her daughter and tried her best to smile. "You've had a long day, don't worry about this anymore. It's going to be alright." Star's smile reassured Selene and she gave her a tight hug. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call to make."

And with that, Star left her husband and confused daughter alone in the living room and raced up the stairs to her bedroom. She took a key from inside her dresser and unlocked a door that hadn't been opened in nearly fifteen years. What had once been a walk-in closet had been turned into a storage room for the magical items she had brought with her to Earth. Star stood in front of a large tarp, carefully pulling it off to reveal a large oval shaped mirror. Star took and deep breath, it had been so long since she used this.

"Call King Alexander." She spoke clearly.

The mirror beeped a few times before his image appeared on the screen. He looked so much different than he did the last time she saw him. His silver hair was pulled back from his face, his eyes were the colour of gold and seemed to glow. His thin lips were pressed together tightly, he didn't smile.

"Star," He spoke monotonously. "It's been a long time."

"It has been." Star nodded. "You are looking well."

The two were silent for a moment, simply observing one another. It had been twenty years since they had met and nearly fifteen since they had last spoken. For a few years after Star's departure from Mewni Alexander had sent her the occasional letter, updates on how Mewni was progressing, a card and gift for her wedding, he even sent his good fortune when he found out about her pregnancy. But shortly before Selene was born the letters stopped upon Star's request, when she made the decision to keep her old life separate from her new one. And now here she was, speaking to him for the first time in years. Seeing him was not like seeing an old friend, far from it. In fact, seeing him only reminded her of his sister and all the pain she went through, and Star was certain that she reminded him of her as well.

"I presume you know why I'm calling." Star spoke first.

"The invitation I sent to Selene?" Alexander presumed.

Star nodded and she watched as Alexander's face fell through the mirror. Before that moment, Star had never seen that expression on his face, he looked worried and Star had no idea why. The man had been so pretentious when they were young and he hardly showed any emotion besides frustration. He certainly was a different man than the one she was betrothed to as a teenager. She heard him sigh through the glass.

"I know that you are calling to tell me that you don't want Selene to attend," Alexander told her. "And I understand why. But I need you to listen to me because she is in danger, or is going to be very soon if you don't let her come here so that I can help her."

Star's eyes grew wide and fear struck her, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest rapidly.

"I- I don't understand." Star stuttered.

"I have been monitoring the Earth dimension and as of late, I've seen signs of magic in a place where magic should not exist, and since you are no longer a magic user, I have come to believe that Selene will inherit the same abilities as my sister," Alexander explained, his voice sounded grave. "I can already see signs that my son has inherited mine, and I need her here so that I can train them together."

The King watched as a sceptical look crossed Star's face. He recognized that she was scared and probably didn't want her daughter to be forced into going to another dimension, but it was necessary for her survival.

"No," Star's voice came out choked. "I won't force her to do this. I won't."

"Star…" Alexander reasoned. "If your daughter doesn't learn to control her powers, she will end up just like my sister."

The words struck fear into Star's heart and tears began to well up in her eyes, she could hardly breathe. Star didn't even want to think about it. But the mind reading… However, mind reading could just mean mind reading. It didn't necessarily mean that she was going to inherit the same powers as Selene of Byzantium. But while Star hoped that her daughter just happened to have the ability to read minds, she knew that there was something else at work here.

"That is the last thing that I want, Star." Alexander assured her. "I have been researching these powers. I have read every book, in every library, in every dimension, trying to learn more about these powers so that nobody will ever share the same fate as my sister ever again."

Alexander looked straight into Star's eyes, watching her wipe her tears.

"I know it isn't easy for you to trust me," Alexander continued. "But right now, I'm her best shot."

Star knew that Alexander wasn't lying. He loved his sister more than anything, and he would do anything to make sure that her death was not in vain. Star nodded meekly.

"I will let her know that the carriage will be here to pick her up on the first." Star choked.

Alexander nodded. "Thank you." He whispered.

And then the call ended, and Star saw her face in the mirror. For the first time in a long time, she felt like the scared little teenager she was twenty years ago. Her vision began to blur with tears, but she could still see Marco's reflection clear as day in the mirror. He hugged her from behind, letting his head rest on top of her's, holding her lovingly, comforting her.

"It's okay," Marco assured his wife. "She'll be alright, he said he could train her."

"I'm just like her." Star's voice trembled. "I'm forcing my daughter to go to school in another dimension against her will. I'm just like her."

"Shh." Marco whispered calmly. "You're trying to protect her, that is your job as her mother." Marco kissed the top of her golden locks. "You're not her, I promise you, you're not."

Marco moved so that he was now facing Star, holding her hands in his.

"We can tell her about Selene," He suggested. "Let her know what these powers mean and that he will help her."

"Telling her about Selene will only scare her." Star choked out. "I don't want her to think that she's dying."

"She isn't." Marco assured her. "But it might be wise of her to know the extent of these powers, she'll understand that Alexander can help her."

"Or she'll have a panic attack and constantly fret about whether or not a literal demon will awaken within her and it will all be my fault." Star's breathing became increasingly shallow. But her words did strike something within Marco.

"Maybe he should explain it to her," Marco suggested. "He knows more than we do about these powers, maybe he can explain it to her in a way so she won't be scared."

"How do we tell her?" Star asked. "Will she hate us?"

"No. She might be angry at first, but she'll never hate us." Marco explained calmly. "We will tell her that Alexander will teach her to control the mind reading, that she will only go for a year to learn how to control her ability and she'll come back and finish high school here."

Star looked up at her husband, she admired his ability to stay calm and collective, even in their current situation. She knew that he was scared, terrified probably, but there was something about the reassuring smile on his face that calmed her, she reached up to touch his face, bringing him closer to her level.

"I love you." She whispered, giving him a loving kiss.

He smiled at her. "I love you too."

* * *

 **Avery:** So who else is ready to go to Hogwarts? And just in time for school to start! Some of you are probably already in school, but for me I don't start until tomorrow. So wish me luck guys! I'll see you in the next chapter!


	4. The Truth Part II

The Truth Part II

 **Avery:** I'm so tired even though I slept literally all day. I've been at school for two weeks and I already want to drop out.

* * *

"You're making me go?" Selene asked in complete disbelief.

She didn't understand. The whole situation had been so strange, and it was only getting stranger. Yesterday her parents had been adamant on letting her choose what she wanted to do, but now they were telling her that she had no choice. She had to go to this school for royals in another dimension. Goodness, the concept sounded so unfathomable to her. She looked down into her bowl of cereal, watching the colourful, sugary, loops floating in the pure white milk. She began to stir them absentmindedly with her spoon, the only noise in the kitchen came from the clink of her spoon against the bowl. She looked up at her parents, trying to read their thoughts, but they only repeated two words, over and over like a broken record.

"I'm sorry," Star said aloud. While Selene knew the apology was genuine, she couldn't help but feel frustrated. It wasn't like her parents to force her to do something. There had to be some kind of explanation. "But you have to learn how to control your ability."

Selene dropped her spoon into her bowl and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she did. She didn't believe that her parent's motives for forcing her to attend a school in a foreign dimension were simply about learning to control her powers. While she would like to know more about her powers and how to properly use them, she didn't see any reason why she couldn't learn how to use them while attending a human school. Her mother learned magic while she was living in the Earth dimension, why couldn't she? She didn't want to leave California, or her friends, and she certainly didn't want to leave her parents.

"No." Selene told them.

 _'I will not let what Selene did be for nothing.'_ Star's voice filled Selene's head. She sounded so scared, so sad.

What she did? Selene wondered what she had done. She couldn't think of anything that she possibly could have done. What was her mother going on about? Selene could see the unmistakable look of dread on her mother's face. She was scared of something. And whatever that something was, it had to do with her powers and why she was suddenly given no choice other than to attend this school. There was definitely more to this than met the eye, and she had to find out what.

 _'I couldn't help her… My fault…'_

Selene watched as a look of fear filled her mother's eyes. Who was she referring to? Who couldn't she help? What was her fault?

"Selene," Marco tried to reason, sensing his daughter's frigid behaviour. "It would only be for a year."

"No." Selene replied simply. "You asked me. You gave me a choice." Selene's voice slowly became louder and angrier with every word that came out of her mouth.

"Selene, don't raise your voice." Marco warned.

"Just breathe, sweetheart." Star calmly reminded her.

But she couldn't. She was angry. Angry because there was something that her parents weren't telling her. Something she knew that her parents were deliberately hiding from her. Something that concerned her and honestly, she just wanted them to be honest with her. Tell her the damn truth about why they had suddenly changed their minds about her going to the Mewni School for Royalty. She was sure that she would understand if they gave her an explanation. But right now they weren't. They were hiding something. Selene had never resented her parents for something, but right now they were not telling her the truth. And that simple fact made her angry. It made her so angry that all she wanted to do was scream. Scream and smash something, anything.

And then, just like that, it happened.

The ceramic bowl that she had been eating from shattered and fell into a million tiny pieces. Milk and cereal splashed onto the floor, along with her silver spoon, which hit the floor with a loud clang. Selene stared down at where her bowl had been, jaw hanging open and brows furrowed. She didn't look at her parents to see their reactions because all she could think was 'did I do that?'

When she finally looked up, her parents were staring at her with wide eyes and matching looks of disbelief.

 _'I don't remember Selene having that power.'_

That is when everything seemed to click. When her name appeared in her parent's minds it was almost always past-tense. And they seemed far too familiar with her powers to have not encountered them in some way before. When she heard her name in her parent's thoughts, they weren't thinking about her.

"Who is Selene?" The young girl asked hesitantly.

Marco and Star looked at each other, a string of obscenities filling their thoughts.

"Well?" Selene asked after a long silence.

Star seemed to freeze, a faraway look appearing in her eyes. It was clear that she didn't know how to talk about this with Selene. She didn't want Selene to think that she was in danger, didn't want her to be afraid. But she knew that she had to explain some things to her daughter, she couldn't expect Alexander to explain everything to her.

"A close friend of mine, the Princess of Byzantium and the sister of King Alexander." Star explained, her voice soft and melancholy. "When she was your age, she developed similar powers to yours."

Selene had suspected this. She silently wondered why her mother hadn't mentioned this yesterday.

"She knew how to control the mind reading," Star continued. "But there were aspects of her powers that were not as easy to control-"

"And she died." Selene interrupted.

Both Star and Marco stared at her like deer caught in headlights, their eyes blown wide.

"I'm not stupid." Selene told them.

It was obvious to Selene. The way her parents thought about this girl. How she had never heard of her even though she was named after her. Her parents had kept this girl's fate a secret from her, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Maybe it was too painful for them to talk about it. But even so, Selene felt she could handle it, she wasn't a child anymore.

"She was killed…" Star trailed off. "I didn't want you to know that such a horrible thing happened."

Selene's face softened. "What killed her?" She asked hesitantly.

Star paused again, not quite sure what to tell her daughter. She couldn't tell her everything without scaring her, but she couldn't lie to Selene. Lying would make her no better than her own mother, and she didn't want to become that woman. Still, she had to explain the negative side of having such power without worrying Selene.

"Magic isn't like in the stories you've read," Star explained. "It can be wonderful, but having that much power, it isn't always a good thing. Sometimes powers like yours can be, well, not the best."

Selene did understand that there would be downsides to her powers. She had stayed up half the night wondering if these powers were truly a good thing. She had thought about how annoying it would be to hear everyone's thoughts at once, not being able to control it. She also thought that maybe the powers would be harmful to her. She would know everybody's secrets. She would know all of the twisted thoughts they had in their brains. The thought made her afraid, she could admit that. Whether she liked it or not, she had to prepare herself to learn the ugly truth about everyone she knew.

"When Selene was killed, I felt like I could have prevented it." Star continued, choosing her words carefully. "It was her powers that got her killed."

It was obvious to Selene now. The princess who had her powers… Was murdered by someone who envied her… She had seen enough historical dramas to know how these power dynamics worked. Clearly, someone didn't like that Princess Selene had these abilities and plotted her murder. Sure, it was a terrifying concept, but something like that wouldn't happen to her. She wasn't anything special, just a girl with powers whose mother was once a princess. Okay, maybe that made her a little special.

"I understand," Selene replied. "I figured that having the ability to read minds wouldn't always be good."

"Well, it is mostly good, as long as you use it responsibly," Star advised her. "I had to learn that the hard way, I used to be a bit reckless with my magic."

Selene's eyes widened.

"You had magic?" She gasped, wonder filling her voice.

"I had my own wand," Star replied, a wide grin spreading across her face. "It would have been yours by now. But I stopped using it a long time ago?"

"That sounds amazing," Selene replied. "Where is it now?"

Star smiled. "Alexander has it. Knowing him, he'll probably try to give it back when he sees you."

Oh right, she was still being forced to go to school in another dimension.

"Do I really have to go?" Selene inquired. "You're sure I can't find some other way to control my powers? Self-teach or whatever…"

"We're sorry," Marco spoke up. "But Alexander spent years learning about his sister's powers, he can teach you far more than we ever could."

Selene still didn't like the idea, but she nodded curtly.

"And we agreed that it would only be for a year," Star reminded her. "He will have you back on Earth for the rest of high school."

Selene nodded again. The rational part of her understood why her parents were making her go, but another part of her wanted to scream and cry. She didn't know what to do. She was going to leave her friends… She was going to leave Romy. How was she supposed to explain to her best friend that they wouldn't be going to the same school anymore? They were going to spend a year apart, and a lot could happen in a year. She had to find some way of explaining this to her friend, but how could she make something so impossible seem plausible?

"Am I allowed to tell people?" Selene asked tentatively. "Can I tell Romy?"

Star smiled.

"Of course," Her mother replied. "I think Jackie and Janna will just be happy we finally told you."

Selene's jaw went slack.

"They know?" Selene gasped in disbelief.

"Everybody at our school knew," Marco replied. "Everyone was pretty cool about it, actually."

Selene nodded again. She silently wondered if the people at her high school would be cool with knowing she had powers. Probably not. They would probably think that she was crazy.

"I'm going to tell her." Selene decided, pushing her chair back and standing up from the table with a certain amount of determination.

Her parents smiled at her proudly.

"Alright." Star replied, happy that all was okay now. "Have fun."

Selene was hardly out the door when she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was leaving. She wasn't going to wake up on Monday and walk to the bus stop, or share a locker with her best friend. She was going to wake up, board a magical carriage to a magical school, and learn how to control her insane new abilities. And now she had to explain this concept to her best friend without sounding like a total maniac. Hopefully, Jackie and Janna would be home to back up her story, she wasn't sure how early they left for work. Selene walked up the driveway to the house, there were no cars in the driveway, but that didn't mean nobody was home. Selene didn't need to knock, the door was always open.

"Selene?" She heard a voice yell the moment she opened the door.

"No, just a burglar." She called back.

Selene heard giggling, and a moment later saw her best friend's head appear from the kitchen, a permanent smile on her face. It was seeing that smile that made the unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach intensify. What were the chances that her best friend would be cool with her having insane powers and attending a school for magical princesses? Romy would definitely think that she was punking her. But this was her best friend, she shouldn't be afraid to tell her the truth, no matter how insane it was.

"Did you eat yet?" The voice came from Jackie, who was cracking eggs into a pan on the stove.

Selene immediately felt at ease seeing Jackie there. Her parents mentioned that both Jackie and Janna knew the truth. This would make telling Romy a bit easier. Jackie was the slightly more collected of the two Mrs. Thomas-Ordonias. Selene knew that she had dated her father very briefly when they were teenagers, but it didn't work out for obvious reasons.

"I did, thanks," Selene replied with a smile. Selene then turned to her best friend. "There's something I have to tell you."

Romy raised an eyebrow at her. _'I knew that something was wrong yesterday, something had to have happened. Wait, I didn't do anything did I?'_

"It's nothing bad." Selene continued, noticing her best friend visibly relax.

 _'Please tell me they finally told her.'_ That was Jackie's voice. Selene hadn't even realized that she had been listening.

"So, uh, something insane happened. Well, lots of insane things happened." Selene suddenly had no idea where to start. "I guess I should start with yesterday."

"You seemed off," Romy pointed out. "Are you okay?"

"Everything is fine." Selene responded. _'I hope.'_

Romy smiled, relieved that nothing terrible was happening to her friend. She took a seat at the kitchen table, and Selene sat down next to her. For a moment, all was silent. THe only sound was the cracking of eggs and the noise of bubbling hot oil. The kitchen began to smell like breakfast, like toast, and eggs, and bacon. Selene had already eaten, but the smell was making her feel hungry again.

"My parents told me something unbelievable," Selene began. "As in, you will not believe me at all."

"Finally." Selene heard Jackie say to herself, casually turning off the stove and leaving the kitchen.

Romy didn't seem phased by what her best friend was telling her. Surely whatever she was going to say wasn't going to be that weird. At least, not to the point where she wouldn't believe her best friend.

"My mom wasn't born in California," Selene started slowly, trying to figure out how to explain this in a way that made some sense. "She wasn't born on Earth."

Romy's brows crashed together. "So she's an alien?"

"No," Selene shook her head. "She's from another dimension."

Romy narrowed her eyes at her friend, her lips parting slightly, nodding slowly.

"And she's the magical princess of a magical land called Mewni." Selene realized how ludicrous the words were as they came out of her mouth. If she hadn't experienced magic first hand, she would think what she was saying was completely insane too.

"Are you okay?" Romy asked. "Did you hit your head or-"

Romy's sentence was interrupted by a loud screech, followed by the sound of someone running down the stairs. Selene didn't even need to look up to know that it was Janna. The woman barged into the room, her slightly red and completely mortified wife trailing slowly behind her.

"Those two numbskulls finally told you the truth?!" Janna exclaimed.

Romy groaned loudly. "Mom!"

Janna ignored her daughter, sliding into the seat next to Selene.

"So, how did they do it? Did they take you to another dimension?" She was talking so fast that Selene could just barely understand Janna's questions.

"Dairy Queen." Selene replied.

"Nice." Janna nodded in approval.

Romy looked between her moms and her best friend, a wave of confusion washing over her.

"What is going on?" Romy voiced.

"Didn't she tell you?" Janna asked as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Selene is a princess!"

Romy turned to Jackie, hoping for an explanation from her slightly more sane mother.

"I think we're confusing her, honey." Jackie calmly spoke. "Now, we should let Selene continue."

Selene reiterated what her parents had told her. About her mother living the first fourteen years of her life as Princess of Mewni but moved to Earth and ultimately decided to stay. She didn't know that much about her parent's past, so she mainly focused on her first experience with magic. A pair of magic scissors transporting her to get ice cream without her having to take more than a few steps. She had watched her best friend's eyes go wide at that description.

"So magic is real?" Romy asked.

Selene nodded.

 _'And I thought I was having a crazy summer.'_

"Oh, I completely forgot!" Selene exclaimed. "I developed the ability to read minds."

The confused look returned to Romy's face. She looked at her equally befuddled parents.

"Don't ask us." Jackie spoke first. "We knew about the magic and the princess thing, but not this."

Romy looked at Selene again, leaning forward and forcing her eyes to grow as wide as they possibly could. She looked like a crazy person.

 _'If this is real, say '_ Romily _Beth Thomas-Ordonia is the coolest chick to ever exist and I love her to death.'_

"I'm not saying all of that Romy." Selene glowered at Romy.

"Okay, she's telling the truth." Romy announced in disbelief.

Selene smiled, she found the look of wonder on her friend's face to be so heartwarming. It was like she was glowing.

"We have to find out everyone's secrets in our school," Romy beamed. "We'll start with Harley, I'm certain they stole my pen in third grade and I want revenge."

Oh right, she had forgotten. Romy's face fell when she noticed the grave look on Selene's face.

"Sel?" She asked. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not going to school…" Selene explained. "Not here, at least."

Romy raised an eyebrow, a look of fear filling her eyes.

"I'm going to school in the Mewni dimension, where my mom is from." Selene continued, watching the look of horror as it washed over her friend's face. "I have to go in order to learn how to control my powers."

And for the first time, or at least for the first she could remember, Selene watched tears fill her best friend's eyes.

* * *

 **Avery:** There was, a lot of editing. I think I edited this more than I did the weekly paper that I have to right for this dumb class. I have weekly papers in one and weekly quizzes in another. At least ten times a day I consider dropping out. Which is probably not a good thing. I'll see y'all in the next one.


	5. The Dream

The Dream

 **Avery:** I don't wanna write essays, so here's another chapter.

* * *

Selene spent her last weekend of summer vacation in her room. She hardly spoke to anyone and she only left her room to eat. Star and Marco worried about her, but ultimately decided to give her space, she had a lot to still process. The worst part was, she wasn't even mad at them. She couldn't force herself to feel anger. She knew they didn't want to send her away, it would be unfair to be angry at them. Instead she felt empty. Like there was a gaping hole inside of her, one that couldn't be filled. She knew that she had to go to this school, and she had to learn to control her powers. Maybe controlling them wouldn't be too hard. Maybe she would learn quickly and then she could come home early. She knew that it wouldn't be easy, but she was determined. She was going to learn how to control her powers by the end of first term. She would be back home by winter break. The thought was nice, but the rational part of her brain knew that it was unrealistic. She was going to be stuck at this school, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She didn't even start packing until the night before. Uniforms and Books would be provided, so she didn't need to worry about bringing much. The only clothes she packed were a sweater, a few pairs of socks and leggings, as well as the nicest dress that she owned. She knew it wasn't nearly as fancy as what the other girls were going to bring, but it was what she had. Other than that, she only packed the basic necessities; a toothbrush, body wash, and gummy worms. Lots and lots of gummy worms.

"Alexander sent me your schedule, would you like to take a look at it?" Star asked as Selene mindlessly shoved her things into her suitcase.

It was intriguing, but seeing her schedule would just make all of this real.

"I'll wait until I get there." Selene replied monotonously, not bothering to look up at her mother.

Selene heard her mother sighing, albeit quietly. She knew that her mother wanted to talk, she didn't need mind reading abilities to make that conclusion.

"There are some things you need to know about Mewni before you go." Star began. Selene stopped packing, but still didn't look up from her suitcase. "You are going to see many things that will seem strange to you, much stranger than mind reading."

Selene found it hard to believe that there were stranger things in this world than mind reading, but she nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"Also, remember that your classmates are royals, much like yourself," Star continued. Selene mentally cringed at the word. She was definitely never going to get used to being called a royal. "They may want you to refer to them only by their title, and you must respect that."

A title. Did that mean she would have to refer to her classmates as Lady or Lord? Her mind filled with thoughts of pretentious young royals who insisted on being referred to only by some dumb title. Titles were dumb, and anyone who had one was dumb. Wait...

"Do I have a title?" Selene asked.

Star nodded. Great, she had to be just as fancy as those proper young royals.

"Princess Selene of Mewni, the first of her name." Star recited. "That is how you will be introduced when you are presented at the opening ceremony."

Opening ceremony? It sounded so official and fancy. Like she was being presented to this new world like something out of My Fair Lady. Did this mean she was Audrey Hepburn now? She tried to picture herself in a hall filled with other royals, and how proper they would sound, how they would act with grace and elegance. And she was just that lowly flower girl, trying to fit into high society. It still didn't feel real to her. That she was a princess. Like the ones in the stories who attend fancy balls and wear extravagant dresses.

Selene wanted to laugh at how formal it sounded. "That's a bit of a mouthful."

"Most royals have longer titles." Star explained, taking a seat on her daughter's bed. "Alexander's full title is King Alexander Helios of Byzantium, Kingdom of the sun, the third of his name, the King of fire and men. And that's not even the longest title I know." Star chuckled as she watched Selene's mouth fall open. "Speaking of which, you will refer to Alexander as His Grace when you are around your schoolmates, and don't tell anyone that he is tutoring you privately."

Selene nodded. She hadn't planned on telling anyone much about the circumstances of her attending the school. She planned on keeping her ability a secret, she didn't want anyone to know the truth. Which also meant that she needed to figure out a good lie to tell people.

"Also, since students in attendance will come from across many galaxies and dimensions, some of them won't look like humans," Star explained. "They may look strange to you."

Selene had figured this. She had assumed that not every dimension's inhabitants would look like her. Her mind conjured up images of the aliens that she would see in movies, ones with green skin and multiple arms, and one large eye where their forehead should be. But that was simply a human's interpretation of what an alien would look like. The truth was probably significantly different. But even then, how different could they possibly be? They were teenagers, just like her, royal or not. They were still just kids.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Selene replied.

"I just want to prepare you," Star reminded her. She paused for a moment, then she perked up as though remembering something. "The son of a friend of mine is going to be there. He's a demon."

Selene stopped, looking at her mother with wide eyes.

"What?" Selene exclaimed. "You mean like, an actual, literal demon?"

"Yes." Star nodded. "He is."

Selene stared, eyes wide in disbelief. "Like, with horns and fire from the pits of hell?"

Star nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "His name is Eliot."

Selene could admit that the concept of attending school with a literal demon sounded rather terrifying, but if her mother was friends with his father then how bad could he be? At least she would know somebody in her class. She had been worried about making friends at this school. Her classmates had lead completely different lives from her, they lived in castles and have probably never had to do so much as lift a finger in their lives. And she just didn't fit into that world. Star seemed to sense that her daughter felt anxious and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry about a thing," Star calmly reminded her. "You are an incredibly mature girl for your age, and you are smart, you're going to do great."

Star kissed the top of Selene's head and stood up from the bed.

"Try to get some sleep," Star advised. "You have to wake up early tomorrow."

Selene did try, but every time she closed her eyes she found it difficult to sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, unable to find a comfortable position. She was definitely thinking too much and she couldn't turn off her brain. Miraculously, she managed to calm herself long enough to drift off. In her dream there was nothing, only darkness as far as she could see. She couldn't make sense of where she was, or what she was doing. It was like she was conscious, but she couldn't wake up. Her heart began to pound heavily in her chest and her breath became shallow. This felt like a nightmare, but at the same time, it felt like nothing.

"Selene." She could hear a voice, albeit faint, but it was there. "Selene!"

The voice sounded like a child's. Why was there a child calling her name? And where was the child? She couldn't see any people, nothing moved in the darkness.

"Selene! Hurry up!" The voice called again.

Cautiously, Selene took a step forward, then another. The voices slowly grew louder with every step she took. Slowly, the darkness started to slip away, and the bright light of the sun blinded her vision. When her eyes adjusted, she was standing in a field. Green grass stretched on for what looked like miles, and above her head was a brilliant blue sky. It was beautiful.

"Selene!" She heard the voice call again.

Selene wiped her head around and noticed a small girl sitting on the grass, in the shade of a tall tree. She was surrounded by white lilies, she absentmindedly picked the flowers and stuffed them into her long, dark, hair. She didn't seem to notice Selene, perfectly content with picking the pretty flowers, alone in her own little world.

"Selene!" The voice called once more.

The little girl looked up and smiled. That is when Selene noticed the young boy, running towards the girl, carrying a picnic basket in his arms. She watched the two children for a moment as they pulled a blanket from the basket and set it down on the grass, along with sandwiches and cookies. There was something about the scene that made Selene smile, something so innocent and sweet about the whole thing.

"We were so happy back then."  
The voice made Selene jump. She turned abruptly and saw a young woman standing behind her, a sweet smile on her perfect pink lips. Selene wanted to say something to her, but when she opened her mouth she found herself unable to speak. The woman only continued to smile at her. She was beautiful, with long black hair that danced in the wind, and eyes that seemed to change colours when they caught the light.

"You're confused. Don't worry, it will make sense soon." The woman continued. "Now, you should be going, there is a long journey ahead of you."

The woman didn't speak after that, her gaze cast towards where the children had been. Cautiously, Selene looked behind her, only to find that the giggling children had vanished. Selene's mouth fell open. She hadn't even seen them leave. She turned around to ask the woman where they went, but she was gone too. Leaving Selene standing alone in the field.

And then she woke up.

Selene pushed the duvet off of her and sat up in her bed. That dream, it was so vivid. She could even feel the wind on her face and smell the sweet scent of flowers and grass. It was almost like she was reliving a memory, but it wasn't her memory. She didn't know those children, or that woman. She wondered who they were and why she had seen them. Dreams are so weird.

Selene went about her morning routine for the final time, well, in this house at least. She took a shower and brushed her teeth, and then she changed into a stylish yet comfortable romper. She barely touched her breakfast, she didn't feel at all hungry. Her stomach hurt too much for her to be hungry. She had never felt so nervous before. It was understandable. Who wouldn't be nervous moving to a different dimension, away from everyone you know and love. Oy, this was going to be a fun day. She barely registered when her father walked into the kitchen, nor acknowledged him when he sat down next to her, taking a sip of coffee from his mug.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. _'I'm sorry again.'_

"I know you are, Dad." Selene replied. "I'll be okay, eventually."

' _I hope_.' She mentally added. She was exceedingly thankful that this mind reading thing only worked one way. She would die if her parents could read her mind.

"The carriage comes in an hour," Marco reminded her. "Do you have everything you need?"

Selene nodded.

"Good." Marco replied. The two fell back into silence for a few minutes, a flurry of thoughts swarmed his head. Of course, Selene could hear them and he knew that. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what. Finally, Marco spoke again. "I know the circumstances are less than ideal, but you are going to experience one of the most wonderful things to ever exist. Try to enjoy yourself. Magic can be an amazing thing."

"It's not the magic I'm worried about," Selene replied. "I have no clue how to be a princess."

Marco chuckled.

"There is no right way to be a princess." Marco told her with a smile. "Your mother definitely wasn't like the princesses in the stories, and most princesses aren't like that."

"At least your not going to the other princess school." Star called from the adjoining room.

"There's another one?" Selene asked.

"Oh, don't remind me of St. Olga's," Marco rolled his eyes. "They tried to brainwash me."

Star laughed and gave her husband a kiss. She loved that she had so many fond memories with him, the two of them on a magical adventure together. And now that adventure was going to someone else. Star smiled at her daughter.

"You're going to be incredible." She told her, grabbing her face and kissing her forehead. "Absolutely incredible."

Selene smiled back, and for the first time in days, she felt hopeful.

The feeling of dread, however, returned rather quickly. Especially when she saw the white carriage appear seemingly out of thin air. It was pulled by white horses and there was a small man loading her luggage into the carriage. Selene noticed a pair of scissors similar to the ones her mother had used, scissors that were going to take her away and into another dimension.

Star and Marco hugged their daughter tightly. They were both completely and utterly terrified for their daughter. They had no idea how she would fair at this school, nor did they know what lay ahead for her. They just hoped that Alexander could help her as best as he could. They didn't want to let her go.

"Be good." Star whispered, her voice cracking slightly. She could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes, she blinked them away.

"I will." Selene promised.

"We know you'll do great." Marco told her confidently, kissing the top of her head. "We are going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you guys, too." Selene replied, a bittersweet smile washing over her face.

"We love you." Star whispered into her daughter's hair. "We'll call you soon."

"I love you both." Selene breathed.

It only really felt real once her parents let go. She was actually leaving. She sat down in the carriage, on the plush cushioned seats, and the driver closed the door for her. She looked out the window at her parents. Their eyes filled with tears, but they were still trying their best to smile for her. She waved to them as the carriage began to pull away, entering the bright white light and vanishing into thin air.

* * *

 **Avery:** Done! Have a good weekend my friends! We're going to Hogwarts in the next one! I'm so excited to introduce all the princes and princesses! And Tom's son is named Eliot literally only because I thought that was the least threatening sounding boys name in existence and I thought it would be humourous to give a demon a completely normal non-threatening name. I also find Tom to be a completely non-threatening name.. heh.. Maybe that was Daron's intention.

Hope you enjoyed!


	6. The School

The School

 **Avery:** Did anyone else stay up all night to watch Voltron? My Klance deprived ass is still Klance deprived and now I'm just angry. I do love Pidge tho, protect my babyy and keep her safe.

I realized that chapter 5 was not my best work, but I'm really stressed and honestly, I just wanted to drop out of university. But this one is better, I promise. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

The carriage rocked and jumped as it skirted along the windy cobblestone path. A dense forest of evergreen trees surrounded the path, hiding the world around the carriage behind a wall of green. Despite the dark and eerie looking forest, the rest of the world seemed bright and colourful, as the sun illuminated the path in the bright blue sky. The sound of the majestic white horses clopping on the stone could be heard for miles as they pulled the coach closer to its destination. The young girl inside the carriage felt a mixture of homesickness and carsickness as she stared blankly out the window, one hand gripping the plush seat cushion and the other on the handle of her trunk. She was quite positive that if this coach did not stop bouncing soon, she was going to throw up the little she ate for breakfast. She had never been so nervous in her life, and with everything that had happened since the mysterious letter appeared in her bedroom, who could blame her? The events of the last week were completely insane to say the very least. If her life were still normal, she would be waiting for the bus with her best friend on Earth, but her life wasn't normal. And now she was off in another world, travelling up a hill in a carriage driven by a stranger.

Then the carriage turned around a bend, and a magnificent castle came into view. The structure looked like something out of a children's story, with tall white towers and turrets with whimsical pink accents, flags bearing the coat of arms of the royal family decorating the stone walls. Ivy climbed the side of the building like a plague trying to swallow the structure whole, giving the castle a mysterious and haunting aura. A grand stone archway barred by wrought iron gates welcomed her to her home for the next nine months. The iron gates parted and the carriage glided inside the walls of the palace. The young girl inside could hear the sound of trumpets blaring letting the entire castle know that she had arrived. The carriage continued up the walkway, the horses gradually slowing down to a gentle trot. The front garden was spectacular, large topiaries of majestic birds were placed in strategic points across the lawn and the walkway was lined with blooming flowers. All around the young girl, there were carriages just like her's, carrying girls just like her. Her carriage came to a sudden halt, causing the girl to lurch forward, nearly falling out of her seat. The stranger who had been driving the carriage quickly came around to open the door for her and kindly offered her his hand. She didn't accept it.

Holding her suitcase tightly, she stepped out of the carriage. The castle loomed over her, it looked so much more daunting up close. She took a deep breath and took her first hesitant steps towards her new home. She could feel the other girls eyeing her, like she was a freak who didn't belong here. She didn't blame them, she didn't want to be there either. She would do anything to be back at her boring old high school on Earth, passing notes during math class with her best friend. But she wasn't on Earth. She was in another dimension. The idea sounded ludicrous to her. She was going to school in another freaking dimension! The ground beneath her feet looked like Earth's, but it wasn't Earth. Even the foreign sky looked so much like Earth's, but it wasn't. This wasn't Earth. This was Mewni. Selene slowly made her way up the grey stone steps and towards the entrance, the grand wooden doors were wide open and gave the illusion that the space was welcoming.

The moment she stepped foot into the castle, she found herself completely overwhelmed. All around her there were extravagantly dressed girls with crowns atop their perfect heads, chatting and hugging like they had known each other forever. A small pixie with flower petals for hair flew up to Selene, whose eyes widened at the sight of the tiny creature. Of course, Star had told her that she would encounter things, magical things that she wouldn't believe. That she would see things like fairies and unicorns. But actually looking at one with her own eyes left her at a loss for words.

"Name?" The pixie's high pitched voice rang out, hurting the young girl's ears.

Selene almost didn't hear the pixie's question. She opened her mouth, but she was too stunned to speak. The pixie's brow furrowed, giving the girl an annoyed look as she repeated her question again.

"Selene Butterfly-Diaz." She stuttered in response.

The pixie huffed and conjured a name tag for the girl seemingly out of nothing. Selene's mouth hung open again and her body froze. Had she really just witnessed that? The pixie rolled its eyes and stuck the name tag on the girl's chest before flying off. Selene forcibly shook herself out of her trance-like state, taking a moment to absorb her surroundings. The floor was made of marble and the foyer was lined with colourful archways. Two grand marble staircases lead up the the second floor of the castle, a sign indicated that that was the way to the dormitories. The walls were covered in portraits of kings and queens of the distant past and a large banner hung over her head. Gold swirly letters on a vibrant purple background.

 _King Alexander Helios welcomes ye_

 _to the Mewni School for Royalty_

Selene stepped forward, her heels clacking on the polished marble floor. If tripping in the hallway wasn't her biggest fear before, it definitely was now because these floors were very slippery. She glanced around at her fellow students. She guessed that everyone in the room was her entire grade. It wasn't many people, but she didn't expect a very big group considering they were all supposedly royals. She counted about twenty-nine students including herself. Some of them looked prim and proper who didn't even need to lift a finger, others looked sensible and practical. And, just as her mother had told her, many didn't look anything like humans. Selene tried her best to keep her eyes moving, she didn't want anyone to think that she was staring at them. That would be a very bad first impression.

Her eyes immediately fell on a boy who resembled a large rat, he had white fur running all down his body and a long, pointy nose. His fingernails were long and looked like talons, and his eyes were bright red. The oddest part, was that he was wearing a suit, she had certainly never seen a rat wear a suit before. Rat boy was talking to another boy, this one had green, scaly skin like a snake. The two whispered to one another, their eyes trained on a girl standing across the room wearing a long pink gown.

 _'_ Clearly _she's the prettiest.'_ One of them, she assumed the snake looking boy, thought.

Selene turned to look at the girl he was thinking of. The one in the pink gown. She looked like the storybook depiction of a princess. Of all the students in the room, she was the one who looked closest to human, except for the odd way her eyes seemed to change from purple to blue. Her dark hair was pinned up into a fashionable updo. The way she smiled was welcoming and kind, it was the kind of smile that one could trust, Selene was sure of that.

 _'Human.'_ Selene heard a voice whisper before she was rudely shoved to the side.

"Watch where you're going!" A crass voice exclaimed.

Selene turned around to look at the girl she had bumped in to. The girl's long hair was pin straight and didn't seem to move with her body, the ends of her locks looked oddly sharp, as though her hair was made of blades. The girl stared at Selene, her skin was grey and her face was wrinkled, her eyes were sunken and hollow. This girl didn't look like a princess, she looked like the evil witch that curses the princess. Still, Selene was raised better than to be rude.

"I didn't mean to bump into you," Selene apologized. "I got distracted."

The girl, who according to the nametag on her chest was Lena, looked at the girl who Selene had been staring. She scoffed loudly.

"What? You've never seen a girl before? Just because she's a Vale doesn't make her a celebrity." Lena sarcastically remarked. Selene raised an eyebrow at her, Lena's expression fell. "Um, she's a Vale? Of the Kingdom of Arryn? She's like, the Prince's third cousin or something." Selene gave no sign of recognition, to which Lena rolled her eyes. "Wow, you're dumb."

Selene opened her mouth to say something, when the odd voice she heard before came again.

 _'Human.'_

"Leave her be, Lena," The voice came from another girl. She had nearly white hair and skin so pale that Selene could clearly see blue veins running all over her body. She had a condescending and almost creepy smile on her face. "She's the special one."

Special one?

"Wait, you mean-" Lena gasped, the other girl nodded.

 _'She's the weird one who grew up on Earth?'_

Oh great, people already knew about her.

' _I could smell human blood from a mile away._ '

Human blood?

"My name is Rhaella," The girl introduced, slowly running her tongue along her teeth, which were shockingly pointed. Selene couldn't keep in the tiny gasp that escaped her lips as she quickly took a step back. Rhaella burst out laughing. "I will never get tired of that! Oh, humans."

With that, the two girls linked arms and sashayed away. Selene stood in place, completely stunned and completely terrified. Okay, five minutes into the new year and one of her classmates is a freaking vampire. And if that wasn't bad enough, at least two of her classmates knew her as 'that weird one from Earth.' How many of them knew that she was a human who had no idea of her heritage? There were barely thirty students, meaning that even if only a few knew right now they would all know very soon. Just the mere thought of that filled Selene with dread.

Suddenly, the sound of trumpets blared through the room, causing Selene to jump. The room got quiet suddenly as everyone was now looking up at a group of handsomely dressed people who Selene assumed were teachers. The women wore matching powder blue dresses while the men wore blue suits with a crest of the left side of the chest. One of the women conjured a microphone out of thin air, Selene had to bite her tongue to keep from gasping again. She was a pudgy woman with dark hair and a mole below her right eye, she smiled kindly at the students.

"Welcome students, to The Mewni School for Royalty!" She proclaimed happily. "Now before we head off on our castle tour, I wanted to introduce myself as well as the rest of your teachers. My name is Professor Skadi, I will be your teacher in magical history as well as the girl's dorm advisor." She then gestured to a man, one with discoloured orange skin and what looked like spots all over his body. "Professor Aegon here is the boy's dorm advisor, as well as the potions and spells teacher."

The woman went on, but Selene had already stopped listening. She wouldn't have to sit through this if she were back on Earth. She never thought that she would ever want to sit at one of those gum covered desks. Magic was cool and all, but she wanted to be on Earth, she wanted to be home. She already hated this place.

It took nearly ten minutes for the teacher to finish her speech before the students followed her down the hallway and around the castle. They saw their classrooms, which had significantly comfier seats than any plastic chair that Selene had ever sat on, the library, which seemed to have an infinite amount of books. The grand ballroom was, well, grand, and the back gardens were beautiful. But Selene didn't register any of it. She didn't care for comfy seats or lavish dorm rooms. She wanted her room at her home and her classroom at her school. Selene was particularly exhausted and starving after an hour of walking around the castle and listening to this lady drone on and on about history. Was it lunchtime yet? Probably passed lunch.

"Now, follow me to the dining hall," Professor Skadi waved for the students to follow her, her heels clacking loudly on the marble floor. "Where we will have our Opening Ceremony Lunch."

Selene sighed in relief. At long last, the tour ended at a pair of double doors at the end of a long corridor. The doors were extravagant, with gold decals across the white paint. A guard turned the gold knob and opened the door to the most beautiful dining room that Selene had ever seen. The room was well lit with a large glass chandelier hanging above a long wooden table. A white lacy tablecloth was draped over the table and a large glass vase with multi-coloured flowers in it sat in the centre. Selene's eyes went wide, she had never eaten in a place so fancy. She wondered what sort of fancy dishes they would serve, she wondered if things like escargot and caviar were considered delicacies in this dimension.

Professor Skadi stood at the threshold of the door, waiting for the students to calm down before giving them further instructions.

"When we enter the dining hall," She began, her voice loud yet proper. "You will wait patiently for the King and his family to enter, then each of you will be announced, and then you will be allowed to take your seat."

The instructions sounded a bit overcomplicated and odd to Selene, but she followed them. She stood to the side with the rest of the class. It was then that she could truly marvel at the size of the room, all twenty-nine of them could stand in one straight line and still have room left over. The room was silent. Selene noticed a few of the girls shaking uncontrollably, Selene wasn't sure if it was excitement or fear.

 _'I heard that Prince Leonidas is quite handsome.'_ One girl's giddy thoughts rang in Selene's head.

 _'One day, I'm going to be his bride!'_ Another proclaimed enthusiastically.

Selene silently wished she didn't have to hear this. These were people's personal thoughts and she didn't have any right to hear them. These thoughts were meant to be private.

A minute later, the doors opened again. This time a handsomely dressed man entered the room, with an equally well-dressed woman and teenage boy trailing behind him. He didn't need the golden crown atop his silver hair to show that he was King, everything from the way he walked to his mannerisms made that obvious. The woman he was with was the most beautiful woman that Selene had ever seen, with long golden hair that gave her a youthful vigour and a sweet smile on her pink lips. Then there was the boy, who was a spitting image of his father from the silver hair to the eerie golden eyes. Slowly, the students around her kneeled. Selene looked confused for a moment before she realized that she should probably be kneeling as well. The fact that she was last to kneel went unnoticed by most, except for the regal looking woman standing next to the King, who smiled sweetly at her.

"Announcing His Royal Highness King Alexander Helios of Byzantium, Kingdom of the sun, the third of his name, the King of fire and men." Yup, that name truly was a mouthful. "His Lady, Queen Emma Schwanstein of Byzantium and their son, Prince Leonidas of Byzantium."

A few moments passed, and the students continued to kneel. Selene wasn't sure why. She sneaked a peek up at the man. So this was the man her mother was talking about? He didn't look horribly dreadful. Selene remembered her mother mentioning that they had grown to be somewhat friends after they broke off their forced engagement.

"All rise." The King spoke, his voice low and bellowing.

The students did as they were told, slowly rising from their kneeling position. Selene noticed then that none of them were smiling, everyone in that room looked so serious, it was strange. The King took his seat at the head of the table, his son and his wife taking their seats next to him.

"When I call your name," Professor Skadi announced. "Please take your seat."

She cleared her throat and looked down at her list.

"Princess Ellaria Vale of Arryn." The pretty girl from before stepped forward, the same sweet smile crossing her face as she took her seat next to the Prince.

 _'She's so lucky.'_ One girl thought.

 _'I wish that I was the Prince's cousin so I could sit next to him._ ' A second one thought. Selene wanted to laugh at her logic, but felt it was an inappropriate time.

"Princess Lyanna Sharma of The Sarai Kingdom, The Dragon Empress."

The girl was by far the most extravagantly dressed, wearing a brightly coloured dress that reminded Selene of a shalwar kameez. She had dark scales running down her arms that blended perfectly into her skin and Selene could see locks of dark curly hair falling out of her headdress. She silently wondered why she was called The Dragon.

The list went on from there, Myrcella of Dorne, Castilla of Redwyne, the rest of the girls seemed to blend together after that. Then the Professor cleared her throat again.

"Princess Selene of Byzantium, The First of Her Name." She announced.

It felt so weird hearing her name like that. So fancy. All eyes were on her as she cautiously made her way to her seat. It would be terrible if she fell right now, in front of all these people. Luckily, she made it to her seat without tripping. She was sitting next to a girl that had been introduced as Lady Yuna of Yamatai, whose long pointed ears looked like that of some sort of animal, like a fox or a cat.

"And now the boys," Professor Skadi continued. "Prince Jon of Dur."

The boy sat directly across from Selene, a bored look on his face.

"Price Joffrey of Nathair," The boy from earlier whom Selene thought resembled a snake sat next to Jon. "Prince Ramsay of Ilygoden." Ratboy stepped forward and took the seat next to Joffrey.

Selene tuned out after that, completely content with fiddling with the white serviette in her lap. She could hear the thoughts of every single person in this room, and some were not so good. This would be better if she knew who was thinking what, but there was too much noise, too many voices. She just wished that she could turn this off. It hurt her head to have so many voices.

"Prince Eliot Lucitor, Prince of the Underworld."

Selene looked up, hadn't her mom mentioned someone named Eliot? The son of her friend, the one who was a demon. She had never seen a demon before. She imagined a demon to have flaming hair and a larger than life physique. But Eliot didn't look like that. He was quite short and skinny, actually. He did have horns protruding from his skull and a third eye smack in the middle of his forehead. She could tell that the boy was trying to look cool by the swagger in his step, but he then immediately tripped over his own shoelace and fell to the cold marble floor. He tried to brush it off as if it never happened, even when few of the students began snickering. Selene gave him an encouraging smile as he passed her, she felt bad for him.

With that, everyone was seated at the table, and servers brought around silver trays containing meat, salad, and corn. She noticed that most everyone got the same meal except for slight variations which Selene guessed were dietary restrictions. The meat tasted like chicken, maybe it was chicken, did they have chickens in this dimension? Selene looked around at her fellow classmates, most of whom were chattering away together, as though they were already friends. Selene wondered if they knew each other before, if there was a royal daycare she missed out on or something. Everyone here could have been friends since diapers and she would be the odd one out. Of course. Selene ate as slowly as she could, poking at her food so that she wouldn't be stuck sitting awkwardly until dismissal. Finally, the servants came around to clear the empty dishes and King Alexander stood at the head of the table.

"Welcome, all of you, to my home and yours for the next nine months." He proclaimed, followed by a chorus of clapping. "I hope that all of you have enjoyed your lunch. In just a moment, Professor Skadi and Professor Aegon will take you upstairs where you will be assigned your dorms. But first, I would like to go over a few rules. First, regarding dorms, I do not want to hear anyone inquiring about switching rooms or roommates, I understand that the living situations may not be what you are used to, but you must learn to live with it." The boy across the table whispered something to Ratboy, causing him to chuckle lightly. "Second, boys are not allowed in girls dorm rooms and vice versa. Third, everyone must be in their dorms by eight, there will be consequences if you are caught wandering the castle after curfew."

There were a few more rules, something about classes and mealtimes, but Selene couldn't be bothered to listen anymore. Instead, her eyes trailed down the table at the rest of the students, half of them were thinking about how bored they were, and others-

 _'I wish they were co-ed, a bunk under that one would be sweet. I'd give anything to tap that a-'_ Gah! Rat boy had the mind of a rat too, gross.

Suddenly, everyone at the table was clapping again as Alexander had finished his speech, Selene joined the applause a few seconds late. A moment later, everyone rose to their feet and followed Professor Skadi out of the dining hall.

* * *

 **Avery:** This chapter is cut abruptly because it is a two-parter! It was getting too long and I did not want to bore you.

Let's play what is the author's favourite show based off the names she as given these characters! If you don't know, its Game of Thrones, the answer is Game of Thrones. All students are either named after a GOT character or their name has some link to mythology in some way or another. They're also either from places in GOT or the ancient world! And of course, I made Joffrey a snake cuz he's a snake. Lol, I'll see you in the next one my loves!


	7. The School Part II

The School Part II

 **Avery:** Chapter seven! In which Selene and Alexander have a little chat! I hope you like it!

* * *

The students broke off into two groups and ascended the stairs towards the dormitories. The annoying clacking of heels on the marble steps reverberated off the walls and filling the atrium. Selene wondered how these girls weren't tripping over their long skirts. She had only ever had to wear a long dress once, for a relative's wedding, and she tripped on her skirt every step she took. Obviously, these girls had more practice walking around in long dresses and high heels than she did.

"Whoever gets Prince Leonidas as a roommate is so lucky," Selene overheard one of the girls sigh dreamily. "Which room do you think he's in?"

"He's not staying in the dormitory." Another girl hissed. "He's going to be staying with his parents, obviously."

"Ahem!" The Professor cleared her throat loudly, causing the two girls to shut their mouths. "When I call your name, please step forward and I will give you your room key. Lady Catherine, Lady Priya, you're in the Blue room."

The two girls ran up excitedly and took their keys before running off down the hallway together, arm in arm and giggling. They probably already knew each other. Selene silently wondered what kind of roommate she would get. She hoped that they were nice, and that they wouldn't mind the whole reading minds thing. Oh boy, how was she going to explain the mind reading thing to her new roommate? Would they still want to be her roommate if they knew? Would they tell everyone in the class? Would her social life be over before it even began? Selene took a breath to calm herself down. Whoever her roommate is can't be that bad. Selene just hoped it wasn't that vampire girl.

"Princess Selene," Selene looked up upon hearing her name called. "You're in the pink room."

 _'She doesn't have a roommate?'_

 _'So not fair!'_

The voices came from all around her and Selene noticed the jealous looks on the other girl's faces as she took her key. She did find it a bit odd that she had her own room, as she appeared to be the only girl who did.

"Why does she get her own room?" One of the girls whispered.

Selene paid them no mind as she made her way towards her assigned room.

"That's the princess of Mewni," Another girl replied. "This is technically her castle."

Selene turned, hoping to hear more of the conversation, but Professor Skadi had already moved on and began handing out keys to the rest of the girls. Her castle? Even technically, this wasn't her castle. This was King Alexander's castle.

Slowly, Selene turned the knob and opened the door to her new room. The pink room definitely lived up to its name, it was very pink. The walls were pink, the bedsheets were pink, even the bunny-shaped carpet on the floor was pink. It was decorated nicely with lovely accents on the walls and photographs of… her mother? Selene looked at the pictures that hung on the walls a bit closer. Blonde, blue eyes, adorable dimples. Her cheeks were painted with tiny pink hearts and she smiled like she didn't have a care in the world. The pictures were definitely of her mother, when she was about fourteen, maybe a bit younger. How strange. Why was her room decorated with her mother's pictures? Were other student's rooms decorated with their family's photos too? Were they supposed to make her feel more comfortable? Selene sighed and moved towards her new bed. Her luggage had been brought up to the room for her, it lay waiting on the bed along with a new uniform and a stack of books. And a note.

 _'Dear Selene,_

 _I hope that you had a safe journey and that you are enjoying your first day in Mewni._

 _I thought that you might find yourself missing home, so I decided to place you in your mother's old room. It hasn't been touched since the day she left Mewni.'_

Well, that explained why there were pictures of her mother on the walls. Selene looked around the room. This really was her castle, wasn't it? This was was her mother's home. She was born here and lived here, she slept in the bed that Selene was sitting on. That on its own was completely ludicrous to think about.

' _Considering your condition, I opted to place you in a room by yourself. If you would like a roommate after you've learned to control your ability, then we will talk._

 _I will see you after the Opening Ceremony._

 _Warm Regards,_

 _King Alexander Helios.'_

Selene sighed in relief. At least she wouldn't have to hear someone else's thoughts in her head every hour of the day. Selene picked the garments off her bed, the uniform she was supposed to wear. It wasn't a terrible uniform. A baby blue skirt that fell to her knees and a puffy-sleeved blouse. There was a blazer to go on top of it, a three button grey cardigan with the school's crest on the chest. Blue wasn't a bad colour on her. In fact, there was a point in time when she considered dying her hair blue. The material looked itchy, especially around the lace decals on the cuff of the sleeves and bottom of the skirt.

She then turned her attention to the books, which were unlike any books that she'd ever seen. _'Potions and Spells Vol. I,' 'A Brief History of The Multiverse.'_ That one was the largest so Selene would hardly call it 'brief.' _'Etiquette and You.'_ That one sounded barf-worthy. Did she seriously have to take etiquette? Did she have to balance books on her head and learn which fork she had to use? That sounded boring. Selene shoved the books onto a shelf. Usually, she would be more careful with a book, but these weren't the types of books she was happy about reading. She did another quick once-over around the room, taking in once again all of the pictures. It was only when she saw pictures of her mother at her age that she realized just how little she looked like her. Selene turned to her trunk and slowly began unpacking her belongings.

Selene was halfway through unpacking when a knock came at her door.

"Who is it?" She called.

The door opened slowly and a maid poked her head through the door. She had green skin and pointy ears, yet her smile was kind and welcoming. She curtsied politely.

"Welcome, Princess Selene." She spoke sweetly.

Selene wanted to cringe. Princess was still such a weird word for her.

"You can just call me Selene, it's alright." Selene replied.

The woman's smile became broader. She smoothed out her apron and beckoned for Selene to follow her.

"King Alexander has requested your presence, he asked me to escort you." She explained.

Oh right, she had forgotten the reason why she was here. The King was supposed to teach her how to control her abilities. She followed the maid down the winding hallways to the other side of the castle, where the King had his office.

 _'This one is adorable! Definitely the sweetest princess I've met so far.'_ The young maid's thoughts mostly concerned those of the students at the school. Apparently, she had been assigned to clean their dorms.

"You're lucky you get to see this part of the castle," The woman buzzed. "The only other student allowed in this wing is Prince Leonidas."

This part of the castle was extraordinary. There were tapestries lining the walls and grand floor to ceiling stained glass windows that filled the hallway with a multitude of beautiful colours. The floors were tile and seemed to follow a geometric pattern resembling a butterfly. The castle felt almost smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside. The hallways were so narrow, yet the ceilings were so high. The maid stopped at a large pair of white doors. She knocked politely and took a step back.

"You may enter." A voice called from inside the room.

Selene looked to the maid, who nodded politely. Selene assumed that the maid wouldn't be joining her. She slowly opened the door and stepped into the room. It definitely looked like an office. The walls were lined with bookshelves and the windows were draped with white curtains. There was a large oakwood desk in the centre of the room, a large pile of papers stacked on top of it. And standing right in front of that desk, looking just as regal as he did when he made his entrance at Opening Ceremony, was King Alexander Helios. Selene stood in the doorway, gently closing the door to the office behind her. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she introduce herself? Surely he already knew who she was. Should she bow? That would be the respectful thing.

"It's nice to meet you." Selene awkwardly bowed her head, not quite sure if she was even doing this correctly. Was there a correct way to bow?

"It's nice to meet you as well," Alexander replied, quietly observing her face. "Your mother sent me a picture when you were born, I remember thinking how much you looked like your father."

The man walked around the desk and sat down in his chair, gesturing for Selene to sit down as well. She complied, settling into the chair in front of the desk. This was definitely comfier than any office chair that she'd ever sat in. Selene watched the man for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. Something was off. Something wasn't right.

"I hope your room is to your liking, Selene." Alexander continued. "It's the room your mother had when she lived here. Nothing has been touched. I thought that if she ever wanted to come back one day she would want everything to be the same."

Selene nodded. She appreciated the fact that he had given her a room to herself, as well as the fact that he hadn't used a title when addressing her.

"Now, I'm sure that you have questions for me," The man started. "But first I wanted to ask you, how much did your mother tell you about your abilities?"

Selene held her head in her hands. Her mother had told her the basics, about the mind reading and the princess who had her powers before her. She decided to tread lightly when mentioning Alexander's sister, just in case it was still a sensitive subject.

"Well," Selene started. "She told me about your- um-"

"Your namesake," Alexander concluded. Selene nodded slowly. "My twin. Selene was the most important person in my life, and when I couldn't save her…" The King trailed off and let out a long breath and looked at the young girl sitting across from him. "I want you to tell me about every single development in your powers, do you understand?"

The demand confused Selene, but it made sense considering he was the only one who could teach her about controlling her powers.

"Did she tell you anything else?" Alexander inquired.

"She, uh, mentioned a wand." Selene recalled.

Alexander straightened in his chair as though remembering something important. He then reached into one of the desk drawers and pulled out a locked box, one that had a thin layer of dust on it. King Alexander inserted the appropriate key and the box unlocked with a gentle click. He slid the box to Selene.

"This is yours." He explained. "The Wand of Mewni has belonged to the heir of Mewni for generations. It's been waiting here for you, Selene."

Selene opened the box curiously, revealing a pink wand with tiny wings on the sides of it. Curiously, she picked it up, only to nearly drop it when a white light engulfed the wand. She gasped loudly as she watched the pink wand fade into purple, and the star in the centre changed to an iridescent crescent moon. The wand felt somewhat heavy in her hands. She didn't know what she expected to happen when she received the wand, but she could never have imagined this.

"This is, wow." She was speechless. "King Alexander, I-"

"You don't need to be so formal." He calmly told her. "Of course, you have to be around people, but during our lessons, I give you permission to call me Alexander."

Selene nodded slowly. She could admit that she thought it was a bit odd for the King to want her to refer to him by his common name. What was he thinking?

Wait. What _was_ he thinking?

Selene had been so caught up in what was going on that she didn't even realize. She couldn't read his mind.

"Is everything alright?" Alexander asked, his voice filling with dread. "You've gone pale."

"I-" Selene stuttered. "I can't-"

"Father!" A voice called, accompanied by a loud pounding at the door.

Selene twisted in her seat, just in time to see the office door swing open. In the doorway stood a boy about her age, with the same silvery hair and golden eyes as the man sitting at the desk. He was rather tall and slim in stature and he stood completely straight. His posture was completely perfect. The boy's eyes fell on Selene. He looked her up and down, his eyebrows then furrowed in bemusement.

"Who is this?" His question sounded more like a demand. Selene rolled her eyes.

"Sit down, Leo." King Alexander demanded, gesturing to the other seat.

The boy begrudgingly closed the door behind him and grumbled as he made his way to the seat. He sat down and crossed his arms, Selene could feel his eyes on her. Despite this, she tried to keep her focus on Alexander.

"Selene, this is my son, Leo." Alexander introduced.

Leo glared at Selene rudely.

" _You_ will call me Prince Leonidas." The boy spat at her before turning to Alexander. "Father, why did you invite a commoner to this school?"

"Commoner?" Selene scoffed. Someone watched too much Ouran during their anime phase.

"Selene is the Princess of Mewni, she is hardly a commoner." Alexander reprimanded the boy before turning his attention back to Selene. "Now Selene, tell me what Leo is thinking."

"Okay…" Selene trailed off.

She found the request weird. She guessed that Alexander wanted a demonstration of her powers, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't find a single thought in his head. Selene stared at the boy for a long, silent, minute. Meeting his glowing yellow eyes that looked like they were made of fire. There was nothing. Nothing in his head nor Alexander's. Which either meant that they had managed to turn off their brains and therefore have no thought process, or…

"I can't," Selene finally stuttered out. "I can't read his mind, or yours…"

Leo chuckled, but Alexander nodded curtly as though he had expected this.

"Then my suspicions are correct," Alexander stated flatly. The two teens looked at each other, wearing identical befuddled expressions. "The light inside of me recognizes the darkness inside of you and rejects it."

"I don't follow." Selene sounded bewildered.

"Inside of you, there is a darkness that gifted you with your abilities," Alexander explained. "A similar being gifted my son and I with powers that counter yours, meaning we are immune to the mind-reading abilities. My sister couldn't read my mind after I got my powers, meaning you won't be able to read mine or Leo's."

"Thank goodness." Leo breathed.

"Now," Alexander continued. "Obviously I have excused you both from last period so that I can teach you about your powers and-"

"Wait." Leo interrupted, standing up abruptly from his seat. "You never told me that someone else would be joining me for my training."

Alexander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Because I knew you'd refuse." He replied curtly.

Leo put his hands on his father's desk and glared at him.

"I refuse to take part in these sessions if she is here." Leo argued.

Alexander stood up in his seat. Although Leo was a tall boy, his father was tall enough to tower over him. Leo still didn't seem intimidated.

"You will," Alexander stated firmly. "Or there will be consequences. Now sit back down so that we can finish here."

Leo whispered something under his breath as he went back to his seat. Selene could feel heat beginning to radiate off of him. Sitting next to him was like sitting in front of a campfire.

"Breathe, we don't want any spontaneous combustions." Alexander reminded his son, causing Leo to roll his eyes.

"Spontaneous combustion?" Selene raised an eyebrow.

"Father!" The boy exclaimed.

"How are you supposed to be King someday if you continue to behave like a child?" Alexander scolded.

Selene gasped as smoke began to rise from the boy's fingertips, tiny sparks seemed to emerge from his skin. She could feel the heat on her face as the boy stood up again and began pacing around the room, his breathing somewhat irregular.

"I ask that you forgive him, Selene." Alexander sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, he is far too much like me when I was young."

Selene nodded, her eyes never leaving the boy's hands.

"What is happening?" She asked curiously.

"He has the gift of light," Alexander explained. "He can create fire."

That sounded cooler to Selene than mind reading. With fire powers, someone could actually fight someone and destroy them, but mind reading just meant that she knew everybody's secrets. Which she could use to her advantage, but that was beside the point.

"Now, the two of you should return to your rooms, we will have our first official lesson tomorrow," Alexander explained. "Leo, would you mind escorting Selene back to her room?"

Leo stopped pacing and looked at his father, his face completely red.

"I expect you to be a gentleman." Alexander reminded him. "Treat Selene like you would your own sister."

Leo shook his head, but Alexander ignored him.

"Now, off you go you two," Alexander said. "I will see you tomorrow."

Leo stormed out of the room, Selene following close behind him. The boy slammed the door, the noise echoing through the hallway before he turned and began storming away. Selene stood in the hallway, watching the boy retreat.

"Um, my room is the other way." She called.

Leo stopped in the middle of the hallway, but he didn't turn around.

"I don't care." He stated. "I don't care what my father said. You are not my friend and you are certainly not the Princess of Mewni."

Selene gripped the wand tightly in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

"This wand says otherwise." She retorted.

Leo chuckled darkly.

"It means nothing." He spat, finally turning around and glaring at her. "You mean nothing."

Then he turned a corner, leaving Selene standing alone in the hallway.

"Quite the charmer..." Selene remarked sarcastically to herself. "No wonder all those girls have a crush on you."

* * *

 **Avery:** Leonidas is a punk brat! I don't really have an outro because my brain in mush. See you in the next one.


	8. The First Day

The First Day

 **Avery:** Chapter 8! I don't really have much of an intro, so I hope that you enjoy!

* * *

"You look like a Sunday school teacher." Selene told the girl in the mirror as she twirled around in her new uniform.

It definitely wasn't something she would put on her body normally. While Selene didn't mind wearing skirts or frills, the ones she was used to wearing were shorter and definitely more stylish than the shapeless garb she had been gifted with. She could have worn a potato sack and that would have looked nicer than this uniform. The skirt reached just below her knees and the blouse was baggy. She opted not to wear the cardigan, as it was still humid. There wasn't much she could do to alter the outfit, besides maybe roll the skirt up a bit. Selene missed being able to pick out her own outfit for school.

She glanced at the wooden grandfather clock sitting in the corner of the room. It was nearly seven and if she wanted to have time to eat before classes started. She slung her bookbag over her shoulder and looked at herself in the mirror one final time. All she needed was a bible and a crucifix and she would look like the poster child for the nunnery. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the wand sitting on her bedside table. She had potions and spells class today, maybe she could ask her teacher about it. With that, she slipped the wand into her bag and left her room, locking the door behind her. She noticed that most of the girls here didn't lock their doors, they didn't even close them. Selene guessed that since most of them were friends that they trusted each other. Selene on the other hand, didn't want her belongings stolen because of some initiation prank.

Selene entered the dining hall, which seemed a bit brighter and more cheerful than it had been the day before. The sweet smell of freshly baked bread filled the room and the natural light of the morning sun shone through the open windows. There were fresh pastries on the table, along with yogurt parfaits and fruit. Selene didn't see any cereal, her go to breakfast. She sighed and began to survey the room for a place to sit. Quite a few of her fellow students were there, along with the Queen. She was sitting at the head of the table with Ellaria whom, if Selene remembered correctly, was her niece. There were the two boys who sat across from her yesterday, the ones who resembled rats and snakes, she didn't want to sit next to them. A few other girls sat in the middle of the table but, while they seemed friendly, Selene didn't want to interrupt their conversation. Then she saw a girl sitting alone, gazing somewhat sadly into her yogurt parfait. Selene smiled and made her way over to the girl.

"Hello." She greeted.

The girl's head shot up abruptly, she stared at Selene with wide eyes.

"H-hello." She stuttered.

Selene pulled out a chair and took a seat next to her, smiling kindly.

"I'm Selene." She introduced.

"Christine." Her voice barely audible.

' _Why are you like this? She's trying to be nice and you're ignoring her.'_

Selene felt bad about hearing that. She knew that she had to learn to control this ability soon. Hearing people's thoughts felt like an invasion of their privacy, especially since they didn't know she was doing it.

Selene began to pile food onto her plate. She took two croissants, a yogurt parfait, and a banana, then poured herself a glass of orange juice.

 _'That's quite a lot of food.'_

Selene looked up and noticed a red-headed girl staring at her plate. What was this one's name? Castilla? The girl smiled confidently, sipping her morning smoothie. Selene watched the girl as she passed by, she sat down next to Rhaella and Lena. Figures. What was her problem? Why did she care what Selene ate?

"I don't think she's a very nice girl." Christine's meek voice whispered.

 _'She told me I belong in the boy's dorm yesterday.'_

Selene looked at Christine sympathetically. She wondered why anyone would say such a thing to a pretty girl. Christine was gorgeous. She had short hair cropped into a cute pixie cut and her eyes were hazel. She could make even the school's ugly uniform look like couture.

Breakfast was mostly silent after that. There were many moments when Selene wanted to talk to her, ask her more questions. She wanted to make a new friend and Christine seemed so nice, but she didn't want to talk. After breakfast, Selene followed Christine to their first class, mostly because she had no idea where they were going.

The first subject of the day was Math. Although Selene detested Math with a passion, she was happy that her first subject was something familiar to her. She noticed Leo sitting in the corner when she entered the classroom, the two made eye contact for a brief moment before Leo returned his attention to his book. Or at least, he pretended to. She could tell he wasn't actually reading, his eyes weren't moving. She sat in the front row next to Christine, keeping her eyes on the chalkboard as numbers appeared seemingly out of thin air. If it weren't for the obvious use of magic, Selene could pretend that she was at home, on Earth, in her boring high school Math class. Romy would sit next to her and they would discreetly pass notes to one another. The thought of home oddly helped her concentration significantly. Maybe she'd actually do well in Math this year.

The rest of the day was not so normal. Especially when Professor Skadi started talking about the significance of dragons in the Five Kingdom War. A war that apparently, unlike what its name suggested, involved more than five kingdoms.

And then it was time for the class that Selene had been dreading since the moment she saw it on her schedule. Etiquette. The students all gathered in a large, spacious, room. All the tables and chairs were pushed against the wall to allow more space. The room was big enough that it didn't feel overcrowded, even with all thirty of them in the room. There were two professors for their Etiquette class. The first was an older woman wearing a long white cloak and her head was covered with a red headdress. The second was a younger-looking woman with pale white hair and translucent eyes.

"Hello class," The older professor introduced. "I am Professor Hestia, and this is Professor Terpsichore, we will be teaching you this year. Now, as our first order of business, I ask that you separate into two groups, girls to the right and boys to the left."

The students did as they were told, moving to their assigned sides. Selene stood smack in the middle of the group of girls, right next to Christine. The red-headed girl from breakfast cleared her throat and tapped Christine on the shoulder.

"The boy's side is over there." She announced snobbily, pointing to the group on the other side of the room.

Everyone's eyes were suddenly on them and Christine looked down at her shoes, her body suddenly stiff and frozen. Selene glared at Castilla, who smiled innocently. Why would someone treat a girl like this? Selene carefully lifted her hand and placed it gently on Christine's back.

"Are you okay?" She whispered.

"I wish she would stop." Christine whispered back.

 _'Why don't they accept me? Did I do something wrong?'_

Selene wanted to tell her that she did nothing wrong. But how could she without having to explain her ability? So she settled for rubbing her back in comforting circles. She noticed Castilla whisper something to Lena, who snickered loudly.

"What a freak." Lena scoffed.

"Will you two shut up!" Selene heard Ellaria seethe.

 _'Breathe. Just breathe.'_

Christine's face was turning red quickly, and she definitely did not look like she was breathing.

"It's okay," Selene whispered so only Christine would hear. "You're okay."

Selene continued to rub Christine's back until her breathing returned to normal. She sent a crude glance in Castilla and Lena's direction before turning her attention back to the Professors.

"Now if you could all find a partner," Professor Terpsichore announced. "We will begin our first lesson."

Wait, what? What were they doing? Selene hadn't been listening.

' _I hope that Prince Leonidas asks me to be his partner.'_

What was that red headed idiot going on about now?

 _'I hope my partner doesn't step on my toes.'_

Step on her toes? Oh no.

"Good luck finding a dance partner." Lena snarled as she walked by, a small snort escaping her lips.

Selene could not dance. She didn't know the first thing about dancing, especially not whatever ballroom thing they were doing. And now she had to find a partner and dance with a total stranger. Fun.

"Nobody would ever want to partner with that freak." Selene could hear Castilla whispering. She knew that Christine could hear it too.

She then heard Rhaella laughing. "I can't see anyone wanting to partner with the human either."

Selene wanted to flip both of them off, but she knew that if she did the Professor would yell at her and she would be the one to get in trouble.

"Prince Leonidas is walking over here." Lena whispered, there was a certain amount of urgency in her voice.

The three girls straightened up immediately, smiling as though they were these perfect young ladies who could do nothing wrong. Selene could gag at the amount of adoration they all had in their eyes. They put this boy that they hardly knew up on a pedestal as though he were some kind of Adonis. The three girls smiled and curtsied to him.

And Selene almost burst out laughing when he walked passed all three of them without so much as a glance. The three shared identical looks of horror as they watched the Prince walk by, their jaws clenched tightly, they were seething.

 _'Did he seriously walk passed me?'_

 _'Is he blind or something?'_

But none of them were prepared for what happened when the young Prince stopped. He extended his hand to the girl in front of him, who was staring at him with a look of disbelief.

"Would you like to dance, Christine?" He asked.

' _What!?'_

 _'Is he crazy?'_

"Um… Y-yes." Christine stuttered out.

She bashfully accepted Leo's hand and he lead her towards the dance floor. The three girls began chattering away again, but Selene paid them no mind. Served them right for calling Christine a freak. She watched Leo and Christine, he leaned over and whispered something to her, and then Selene felt her heart sink. Had Leo asked Christine to dance only to make fun of her? She wished she could hear that boy's thoughts right now. But then Christine smiled and said something in reply, and Selene relaxed once again.

"W-would you like to be my partner?" A voice stuttered.

Selene turned to see Eliot, talking to Rhaella. He was smiling kindly, offering her his hand, he had even bowed like a true gentleman.

' _Ugh! Not this loser again.'_

"How about never." Rhaella snickered, her two lackeys joining her in ridicule.

Selene couldn't stand this. She could not stand these girls and she could not stand to let this poor boy get bullied. Selene stepped in front of the three cackling witches, she looked up at the demon boy.

"Hi Eliot," She smiled. "Would you like to dance with me?"

The girls stopped their laughing instantly. They were probably glaring at her, but Selene couldn't bring herself to care.

' _She's asking HIM to dance?_ '

"Um.. Yes! Yeah, I'd like that." The boy stuttered, his eyes going wide.

Selene grinned and took his hand.

"Come on then," She chided, dragging him towards the dance floor. "Let's go!"

"Just a warning," Eliot whispered. "I might step on your feet."

"I will definitely step on your feet." Selene replied with a smile.

The two chuckled, and any tension they had felt before was broken.

"Is everyone partnered up?" Professor Hestia called. Her eyes scanned the room, counting all fifteen pairs. "Good. Now, you will be learning a few different dances as part of our etiquette curriculum. Professor Terpsichore, could you please introduce our first dance?"

"I will need to borrow someone for demonstration." Professor Terpsichore announced. A tall boy that Selene didn't know the name of volunteered. "Perfect, now I will demonstrate a slow waltz."

Waltz. Of course they were learning how to waltz. That was like fancy people 101.

"Now follow my steps exactly." She explained. "Now boys, step forward while the lady steps back."

The students in the room followed the steps. Selene managed to step back, but she didn't step far enough, Eliot stepped on her, his chest now pressed into her's.

' _We're really close. I hope my breath doesn't stink.'_

He was right, they were close. Oh, no, did her breath stink? That would be a terrible first impression.

"Now step to the side."

The class obeyed once again. Selene heard someone groan in pain followed by a muted "sorry."

"We're not too bad at this." Eliot whispered.

Selene chuckled. "I guess not."

"You never told me your name." He mentioned, continuing the motions of the slow dance.

"Selene." She replied. "Selene Butterfly-Diaz."

His eyes widened.

' _She's the girl dad was talking about_.'

Oh good, he already knew her.

"You're the princess of Mewni." He gaped. "My father told me about you."

' _Maybe too much. I really didn't need to know he dated her mother, gross.'_

Selene's eyes widened. She had to get a grip on these powers soon. Her brain was going to explode if she didn't. For now, Selene continued to go through the motions. The dance was pretty easy to learn, she didn't step on Eliot's feet as often as she thought she would, which was good. Maybe she wasn't bad at this whole "Princess" thing.

Before she knew it, the class was dismissed, and the students were heading off to lunch.

"Do you want to eat together?" Eliot asked.

"Sure." Selene replied, glancing over to Christine. "Save a seat for me?"

Eliot nodded and left the room, leaving only a few students left. Selene wanted to talk to Christine before lunch, find out what Leo had said to her.

"He wasn't rude if that's what you want to know," Christine told her.

"What was he whispering to you?" Selene asked.

Christine looked at Selene with a comforting smile across her face.

"He told me they weren't worth crying over." She replied happily.

Christine seemed to be in a much better state. She didn't seem so scared anymore, and the confidence was beautiful on her.

"Why were those imbeciles saying such terrible things?" Selene questioned.

Selene realized it was a bit of a personal question, and that maybe a girl she had just met wouldn't be too eager to open up. Christine, however, didn't mind the question.

"Most kingdoms are not quite as open-minded as we are in Vinetta," Christine explained. "Where I come from, we have the right to choose how we want to identify. I am a girl. But some people, like Rhaella and Castilla, don't see me as one."

Hearing such a thing made Selene's heart ache. This girl was just trying to be herself and there were people here trying to deny her that. She didn't deserve to be treated like this.

"I have to get something from my room, but I'll meet you at lunch?" Christine inquired with a sweet smile.

Selene looked up at her, returning the same kind grin.

"I'll save you a seat." Selene responded, and the two parted ways.

Selene could hear her fellow students chatting in the dining hall from where she stood. Their voices echoing off the walls. Selene was about to join them when the door to the hall swung open, and Leo was standing in front of her. He paid her no mind and began to walk past her. She still thought he was rude. But what he did for Christine was so sweet. He couldn't really be that bad, could he?

"That was nice." Selene spoke hesitantly. "What you did for Christine."

Leo didn't turn around.

"She is the tallest girl and closest to my height, making her the ideal dance partner," Leo explained, his voice tinged with arrogance.

Selene didn't say anything more. She simply watched him walk away.

"Why am I even trying to be your friend?" She whispered to herself before pushing open the door to the dining hall.

* * *

 **Avery:** Hehe, bet ya'll thought Leo was gonna ask Selene to be his partner. Sorry! I was really excited to introduce Christine (aka my precious cinnamon roll who I will protect with everything that I am.) I hope you love her as much as I love her.


	9. The First Day Part II

The First Day Part II

 **Avery:** Late chapter because I am a full time student with a full time job and that's not a good mix. I'm exhausted and I have an essay due tomorrow.

* * *

The dining hall was fuller than it had been at breakfast time. Every student was gathered around the long dining table, happily chattering over what looked like salmon with a side of mixed vegetables. Was that seriously what they were eating for lunch? Selene was pretty sure that any teenager would rather have pizza or a cheeseburger over this fancy lunch, royalty or otherwise. She spotted Eliot sitting at the far end of the table, he had saved her a seat like he promised.

Selene slid into the chair next to him and placed her bag on the empty seat beside her, for Christine of course. She looked down at her plate, the salmon was perfectly pink and lay there waiting for her. Even though Selene hated fish and would do anything for a mountain of greasy french fries right now. She grabbed her glass and took a sip of water, hopefully, she could wash this down quickly. She eyed her plate, and then the array of forks and knives sitting on either side of the dish. She immediately felt overwhelmed. Why were there so many utensils? Which ones did she use? She would look like uncultured if she picked the wrong one. She glanced over at Eliot nervously.

"Are you alright?" He whispered.

"Fine." Selene replied, taking a few more gulps of water. She didn't want to risk him laughing at her if she confessed that she didn't know which fork to use. "I just don't like fish."

Eliot nodded politely. "Well, there's Caprese salad too, and there will be cake afterwards."

Selene immediately perked up. There would be cake? Fancy rich people at private boarding schools served cake for lunch? She would never get that at her public school. However, they also wouldn't have given her fish. Selene didn't even touch the fish, instead, she scarfed down her vegetables and spooned a large helping of Caprese salad onto her plate.

"The Caprese salad tastes better than icky fish, don't you think?"

Selene glanced up at the sound of the voice, noticing for the first time who was sitting across from her. Ellaria smiled kindly at Selene, an unmistakable look of adoration in her eyes. Ellaria was quite possibly the prettiest girl that Selene had ever seen. Her dark hair was perfectly curled and her almond-shaped eyes seemed to sparkle. Everything about her look screamed princess. She looked like she could be the poster child for Disney.

"You're Selene," Ellaria stated with a content smile. "Uncle Alex told me about you."

It was a bit jarring to hear someone refer to the King as Uncle, that someone would be close enough that they did not need to use his formal title. It was also sweet in a domestic kind of way, like this man with all the power in the world was still just a man. Selene guessed that unless Alexander had another sibling that he neglected to mention, Ellaria was from the Queen's side of the family.

"Good things, I hope." Selene muttered under her breath.

Ellaria only smiled in response. "Only the best."

 _'Leo told me._ '

Selene looked up at Ellaria, her eyes wide open in shock. She opened her mouth to say something, but could only sputter in response.

' _Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.'_

Selene leaned as far forward as she could. "Why would he say anything about my- you know?" Selene whispered as quietly as she could, earning a weird look from Eliot.

Ellaria opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but Selene shook her head. She quickly tapped her head and gave the other girl a swift nod.

 _'He didn't mean to, I swear it. He was explaining the whole yin and yang thing about his powers and that Uncle Alex was tutoring you both. He hasn't told anyone else, I promise.'_

Selene was confused, and angry. Angry because Leo would tell his cousin about her powers without even thinking about how it might make her feel. The fact that he had a complete disregard for her and her feelings made her blood boil. But she was also befuddled by Ellaria's word choice. The whole 'yin and yang thing.' What did that even mean?

"What are you-"

"I'm back." A voice interrupted.

Christine slid into the seat next to Selene, smiling happily as she cut into her salmon. Selene sighed, choosing to let her curiosity go for now, and instead picked at her Caprese salad.

 _'Wrong fork.'_

Selene looked back up at Ellaria, who was gently tapping on the small fork next to her plate.

' _This one is for salad.'_

Selene put down the larger fork and picked up the correct fork. She hated this, she felt so stupid. She wasn't trained like these other kids were. She didn't know anything about manners or etiquette or using the stupid correct spoon. She hated feeling inferior like this. It was like all of these other royals were not so silently judging her for not knowing things that seemed so insignificant to her. Selene suddenly lost her appetite. She slowly stood up from the table muttering something about going to the washroom before practically sprinting out of the dining hall.

Once she was alone, she let out a long breath. She felt panic rising in her chest. She just wanted to be home. On wobbly feet, she walked towards the nearest restroom, hoping to splash cool water on her quickly. Unfortunately, the restroom was occupied, leaving the poor girl standing in the hallway, trying her best to control her breathing. She stood outside waiting for whoever was inside to finish. She could hear the sound of footsteps and the running faucet. Eventually, the door opened. And there stood Rhaella, tall and elegant with a dastardly smile stretched across her face.

"I knew it was you," Rhaella chided, reaching forward to touch Selene, who recoiled at her icy touch. Her skin was so cold and so smooth, it was like she was dead. "I could smell the blood in your human veins."

Selene narrowed her eyes at the girl. Selene wasn't very tall and Rhaella was at least a head taller than her, but she was confident that she could hold her own in any given situation. Even if she was face to face with an actual vampire.

"Don't touch me." Selene retorted defiantly. She wasn't going to show fear in front of this girl, it wasn't like she could hurt her while they were at school.

Rhaella chuckled darkly.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She lied, fake sweetness tinged in her voice, her wicked grin widening. "You humans are more fun during hunting season."

' _Their delicious screams while their blood is drained from their bodies.'_

The image was the stuff of nightmares, evoking terrifying images of Rhaella's sharp teeth attached to her neck, draining her dry. She really was a vampire, one who preyed on humans. That explained why her appearance reminded Selene of a corpse, she was technically dead. Unless Selene had vampirism all wrong. Maybe she was born like that. The only things she knew about vampires came from bad teen dramas.

"Besides, you'll be back on Earth soon enough," Rhaella continued. "I mean, this is a school for real princesses, not bastards like you."

With that, Rhaella turned and sashayed down the hall, the sound of her heels echoed throughout the hallway.

Bastard? She wasn't a bastard. She was born a whole two years after her parents got married. Did the fact that her father wasn't royal make her illegitimate somehow? Now that she thought about it, her mother did kind of run away from her intended to elope with the man she loved. That was pretty badass but breaking such a rule probably had serious repercussions. Maybe she no longer had any claim to the throne. That would explain why Leo told her off when she claimed to be the heir of Mewni. That didn't matter. She wasn't here to reclaim Mewni for her family, she didn't even know the first thing about being a queen. She was just here to learn how to control her powers. That was all.

"Selene!" She heard a voice call.

When she turned around she saw Eliot walking towards her, Christine and Ellaria not too far behind him.

"Are you alright? You've gone pale." He asked, concern laced in his voice.

"I'm fine." She managed to stutter out.

She couldn't really tell them about what Rhaella had just told her, she didn't want more people thinking that she wasn't a real princess. Eliot stepped forward, his eyes cast down to meet her's, he looked so serious and at the same time so gentle.

"Did she say something to you?" Eliot asked.

Selene looked away, unable to meet the boy's gaze. Rhaella was awful and she was terrifying. Maybe vampires were a normal thing to these kids, maybe they had grown accustomed to vampires and werewolves and faeries. But Selene came from a place where such things were mere myths. Even Eliot, with horns protruding from his skull and a third eye smack in the middle of his forehead, was unusual to her. But Rhaella was definitely the scariest thing that she had ever seen. She wasn't entirely convinced that Rhaella wasn't going to eat her. How was she supposed to sleep down the hall from danger? And then to tell her that her title wasn't real. She felt so, small and weak. She detested that feeling.

"Selene?" Eliot whispered calmly. "It's okay."

He smiled, a sweet smirk that was so unbelievably genuine, it made Selene feel comfortable and safe.

"She told me she eats humans." Selene slowly admitted. "She could smell the human blood inside of me."

She noticed Eliot's shoulders tense up slightly for a moment. Christine put a hand on his shoulder, her touch seemed to soothe him in a way.

"Vampires have never been a kind race," Christine spoke. "Humans are their primary food source, they host hunting parties and kidnap humans to keep as blood slaves." She hissed angrily. "It's disgusting."

"She can't do anything to you," Ellaria reminded her. "It would be considered an act of war to attack the princess."

The word echoes in her brain the second it leaves Ellaria's mouth. Princess. Rhaella had told her she wasn't a princess, and Leo had implied it as well. What did they know that she didn't? What made them believe she wasn't a true princess?

Still, Selene put on a confident facade and smiled for her new friends. She wasn't enjoying her first day of school in the slightest, but hopefully, the remainder of the day would be better. The four opted not to return to the dining hall, but rather to make their way to their next class. Anything was better than returning to that dreadful room.

 _'You should tell them._ ' Selene heard Ellaria's voice in her mind. _'It might be easier if you do.'_

Selene looked at Ellaria, who smiled sweetly. Selene shook her head, she wasn't ready. She just met these people, she didn't want them to think that she was a freak.

 _'It's okay if you don't want to just yet,_ ' Ellaria continued. _'But I do think you should consider it soon.'_

Begrudgingly, Selene nodded. A part of her realized that it might not be wise to hide this power, and she should perhaps tell some people about her abilities, she didn't need to know everything they were thinking.

Suddenly, Selene felt a hand on her shoulder, the surprise causing her to screech. Christine and Eliot jumped and turned around, their faces were determined, as though they were ready to fight whoever was behind them. Selene turned around, and there was Leo, an uninterested look crossing his face. He looked down at her, his eyes looked like tiny glowing flames. Ellaria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Leo, don't sneak up on people like that." She reprimanded him.

Leo's eyes flickered to where his cousin stood, he let out a breath.

"My apologies," He grumbled. Selene was impressed that he had that ability to feel apologetic. Leo turned to Selene, his warm hand still on her shoulder. "My father has requested we meet him in his office early."

Selene turned to her friends and then looked at the tall boy standing in front of her. She quickly apologized to her friends for having to leave them and followed the boy down the hallway.

 _'He's not terrible._ ' Ellaria's voice came again. _'I promise.'_

* * *

 **Avery:** Don't be upset if the next update comes slowly. I have five classes this semester and I work whenever I can get hours because I need money. So, yeah. I'll see you all when I see you. Have a good day.


	10. The Past

The Past

 **Avery:** Because I need a chapter in which Alexander fills in the gaps between his sister's death and the present, but he can't reveal much because plot.

* * *

Leo had much longer legs than Selene, making it hard for the short girl to keep up as he lead her down the hallway. His hand was warm on her arm, it truly did feel like there was fire coursing through his veins. She didn't know why he was insistent on holding her arm the entire way to the King's office. He probably didn't notice, but he was pulling her awfully hard.

"C-can you maybe let go of me?" She asked meekly.

Leo looked down, as though just realizing that he was holding her. He pulled away so quickly, as though she was the one who was burning. The boy quickly wiped his hand on his trousers.

"What? Do you not like touching commoners or something?" Selene remarked sarcastically.

Leo rolled his eyes. "My hand was sweaty."

He was such an odd young man. He didn't smile, he came across as arrogant and rude. Still, Selene wanted to give him some benefit of the doubt. He was the Prince, he had been raised differently than she had. That was still no excuse to be rude to her. She didn't care if they never became friends, but she did want respect. Respect that it seemed she wouldn't have. Why was he so… ugh! Ellaria told her he wasn't terrible. And Ellaria seemed so sweet and kindhearted, she wouldn't put up with Leo if he was really that bad. But that didn't change things right now. She was still angry that he refused to acknowledge her presence, and even worse he had told Ellaria about her powers. He could have at least asked her permission before he did that.

"Right." Selene breathed. "You know, on Earth it is customary to look people in the eyes when you're having a conversation with them, I see you do not hold that same value as you do not even look at me when I speak," Leo ignores her and keeps walking, but Selene continues, quickening her pace. "It's also impolite to ignore people and do things like, I don't know, gossip about them when they're not around."

Leo froze in the middle of the hallway. He slowly turned around to look at Selene, his eyes narrowed at her. His stare stabbed her, it daggered into her skull and into her skin, she could feel heat radiating off of him.

"What are you talking about?" There was venom in his voice.

"You told Ellaria." Selene Spoke with a certain defiance. "You told her about my powers, you shouldn't have done that without asking me. And then there was Rhaella and, goodness I don't even know what she knows."

Leo took another step towards her, his eyes seemed to read her, to glance into her soul and devour her whole being. Selene stood in her place, even as the boy towered above her.

"I only told her because she is my family," Leo spat. "My family knows, my father and mother know, so does my cousin, and that is it. I didn't tell anyone and neither will Ella, I trust her more than anyone else in my life. I don't know why you mentioned Rhaella, but she's completely insane and I haven't spoken to her in years. I can't believe you would accuse me of such a thing!"

"You still should have asked." Selene retorted. "You shouldn't have assumed that I would be okay with you telling Ellaria, you shouldn't have told anyone about me, and I mentioned Rhaella because for some reason she thinks that I'm a bastard."

Leo scoffs. "People talk, I didn't tell her that."

"I don't care!" Selene yelled. She then took a calming breath and looked up at the boy once more. His face was completely red. "Don't talk about me."

"I haven't." He sneered. "You are completely disrespectful, you know? You don't know me at all."

Selene glared at him, she felt her blood boiling in her veins. Disrespectful. He had the audacity to call her disrespectful. He was sure one to talk. She was angry, angry and annoyed. And she wasn't going to take this from him. He may have been a Prince, but she was a 21st century girl from Earth and if feminism taught her anything it was exactly how to handle this situation.

"You're right, I don't know you." She spoke harshly. "I don't know you and you don't know me and that is because you are not trying."

Selene could feel her voice getting higher, but she didn't care. He didn't know her either, but he was about to.

"You don't make any effort to know me, and you don't seem to want to." She ranted. "You don't even want to be civil with me. You have been nothing but rude to me and if you are seriously going to act like this, then fine, do whatever you want. But I don't want to hear that I'm being disrespectful when you have done nothing but disrespect me! You can't demand that people respect you if you don't show them respect in return! And if you seriously think that you have the right to just demand such things of people, then you are going to be a terrible king."

Selene watched Leo's face fall, all the colour slowly leaving. He looked at her, his gaze softening. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Selene wished that she could read his mind right now, she wanted to know exactly what he was thinking. After a few moments of silence, Selene turned away from him.

"Go see your father on your own," She spoke, slowly making her way down the hallway. "I'll be going back to class now.

Leo didn't say anything. He simply watched the girl as she left. She didn't really expect him to say anything. But deep down, she had hoped for an apology at the very least. But just the satisfaction of knowing that maybe he might have considered the idea that he might have been wrong was enough, for now at least.

The rest of the day passed by so slowly after that. Magic class seemed to go on and on, and they had only discussed basic wand care. Professor Aegon seemed nice, if a bit eccentric. The man had gone off on many unrelated tangents throughout the class, even stopping at one point to show the class a picture of his dog. It wasn't until English class that Selene felt that she could breathe again. She listened intently to the lesson, once again pretending to be in her little classroom on Earth. But every time she looked out the window, seeing the gardens and the castle walls, she was hit with a painful reminder. It was exhausting and by the end of the day Selene was excited to return to her room so that she could take a nap before dinner. But she never made it to her room. Instead the Queen had found her and pulled her aside. Queen Emma had a pleasant smile, her skin and hair looked soft as silk and her eyes looked like they were made of glass. She was truly the storybook depiction of the beautiful queen.

"I wanted to apologize for my son's behaviour." She said kindly. "I know your situation is difficult, and none of us are making it any easier."

Selene found it cowardly that the boy had gotten his mother to apologize for him.

"Tell your son that if he is actually sorry, he should apologize to me himself." Selene responded as kindly as she could.

 _'He is stubborn that one. Maybe she'll_ _be good for him. They could be friends if they tried. Wait.. She can hear all of this.'_

Selene nodded and the Queen's face turned bright red.

"I forgot." She explained, a bashful smile crossing her face. "My husband would still like to see you, without Leo this time."

"Thank you." Selene said with a smile.

While Selene had been looking forward to her nap, she was glad that she could talk to Alexander alone. After her conversations with Leo and Rhaella, she had some questions. She wanted to know why Rhaella accused her of being a bastard and she wanted to know more about the place where her mother grew up. Her thoughts often drifted to her mother and father. Oh, how she missed them. She knew that she would miss them for the first few weeks, but she wanted to talk to them, she wanted to let them know that she was okay.

She approached the door to the office, knocking gently on the oak wood door. The door opened slowly, and Alexander stood behind it, smiling at her fondly.

"Come in," He invited her. "Take a seat."

Selene allowed herself to sink down into the chair cushion, realizing just how sore her muscles were. The amount of stairs that she had to climb in this place was unbelievable. They had wifi, but no elevators? It was truly an atrocity. The first day of school had always left Selene drained and emotionally exhausted, but today it was too much. She just wanted to sleep.

"I can't say I was too surprised when Leo arrived without you." Alexander admitted. "I assumed, at first, that he hadn't bothered to look for you at all."

Selene didn't know whether to smile or roll her eyes. Truly, Leo was a special breed.

"He told me what you said." The man continued, tapping his fingers on his desk.

"Did he tell you what he said?" Selene didn't mean to sound as rude as she did, but she was annoyed with that boy enough already.

"He did." Alexander replied, sighing heavily. "He told me that you said he wouldn't be a good king if he continued acting the way he did."

Selene nodded. She regretted saying that now, not because it wasn't true, but because now she might be in trouble with the King. Alexander had been so nice to her, and she was rude to his son.

"I told him you were right."

Selene's head snapped up when the words left his mouth.

"Really?" She asked in disbelief.

"Really." He replied firmly. "Leo needs to learn that respect is something to be earned, not demanded. Leo is brash and often irresponsible, he is far too much like me."

Selene leaned forward in her seat, her chin resting in her hand.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked. "You've been so kind to me."

Alexander chuckled, his shoulders shaking as he did.

"I assume your mother didn't tell you our full history." He mused. Selene shook her head. "I was not exactly a good person as a young man. I was like Leo, demanding that people respect me simply because I was the heir. I wanted everything my way."

Selene was amazed at how levelheaded he was now, especially if he truly was anything like Leo in his youth. Maybe if Alexander could change then Leo could as well.

"When my father forced me into an engagement with your mother, I was furious. I wanted nothing to do with her. I am ashamed to say that I went as far as burning her when I thought she tried to poison me."

Selene's mouth fell open slightly in disbelief.

"So, what happened?" She asked curiously. "What made you want to change?"

Alexander took a long breath and looked down. It was only then that Selene noticed the photographs on his desk. There were only three. The first looked pretty recent, a family photo of him with Emma and Leo, one of Emma holding a baby Leo, and one of a young girl. She was smiling at the camera, her eyes filled with wonder and ambition. She looked so achingly familiar, but Selene couldn't figure out where she had seen her.

"I lost my world the day my sister died." The man confessed. The way he talked about her was with such a fondness that it broke Selene's heart. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he never truly got over losing her. And maybe nobody gets over losing someone who they loved that dearly, maybe a piece of them always exists with you. "I mourned her for months, it completely consumed me. I was so overwhelmed, as my father had just died as well, and suddenly I was the ruler of the land. I didn't know how to handle it."

Selene nodded, completely engrossed in his story.

"Emma was the one who I leaned on most during this time." Alexander continued with a smile. "I snapped at her so often that I'm surprised that she even accepted my proposal. Then, I think this was eight or so months after Selene died, I received a letter from your mother asking me how I was. So I sent one in return, updating her on the status of Mewni, letting her know she could return whenever she pleased."

A small smile crossed Selene's face.

"We sent each other letters often, we sent gifts on birthdays and weddings, but one day I received a letter from your mother saying that she had to cease all contact with the magical world." He explained. Selene raised a brow at him. "The last letter she sent me was about you, how she wanted you to live a carefree, normal life on Earth. She made the choice to not tell you about magic or the multiverse. I respected her decision, I didn't agree with it, but I respected it."

"I'm glad that the two of you became friends, sort of." Selene told him with a smile.

"I am too." Alex replied. "Now, is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"

Selene nodded. "Just one thing."

Alexander leaned forward in his chair.

"One of the girls, Rhaella," Selene started. "She called me a bastard, what was that about?"

A frown grew on Alexander's face, he looked almost upset

"Nasty rumours." Alexander huffed. "When King River of Mewni, your grandfather, died and your grandmother remarried so quickly people around the dimensions began to get suspicious. Finding out that it was King River's brother who had killed him was a shock to everyone, and with that rose rumors."  
Selene's eyes widened with shock. Her mother hadn't told her much about her grandparents, only that they had both died before she was born. Besides that, she didn't know much.

"There were rumours that your mother was not the legitimate heir," Alexander confessed. "That Queen Moon had been having an affair from the beginning and Star wasn't the King's daughter. It didn't really matter that Mewni was a matriarch, a bastard still has no claim to the throne. Then when I took over for Mewni, people thought it was a cover up."

Selene slouched in her seat.

"Was it?" She was almost too scared to ask. "Were they true?"

"No, I investigated it myself." Alexander replied. "Star is definitely King River's daughter, there's no doubt about that."

Selene nodded once again, satisfied with the answer.

"Is there anything else you need?" Alexander asked.

"No," Selene shook her head. "I think that I'm okay now."

Alexander nodded and stood up from his chair. He walked around the desk so he was now standing in front of her. Selene stood as well, although the man still towered over her. She cursed genetics for making her so short.

"I will remind Leo to be more respectful," Alexander told her. "I promise you he will be much better behaved at tomorrow's meeting."

Selene nodded, thanking him with a confident smile, one which the King returned.

"Now, you must be starving," He said in realization. "Go have dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

The young girl only smiled and rushed out of the room, closing the office door behind her. Alexander smiled to himself and sat back down at his desk, looking over at the photographs fondly. He picked up the one of the smiling young girl, tracing the outline of her face with his finger. He remembers how soft her skin had been, how free her laugh sounded. He smiled sadly.

"I miss you."

* * *

 **Avery:** If updates are slow it is because I work and go to school full time and don't have much free time on my hands. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one.


	11. The Past Part II

The Past Part II

 **Avery:** Happy Holidays! Here's your gift! A new chapter! I watched The Last Jedi twice! I loved it and I hate that I love Kylo Ren now. I've gone to the dark side, unfortunately.

* * *

The days seemed to get slower and slower the longer she was there. Within a week, Selene had settled into her class schedule and gotten used to her new routine. She learned that if she wanted to shower before class, then she had to wake up early enough to get a spot in line for the bathroom. She also learned that many Earth foods, including her favourite cereal, did not exist in this dimension. Other than that, this school almost felt like a normal one, if she didn't count the fact that it was in a castle and everyone was learning about how to run a kingdom one day. She hadn't made any progress with her powers just yet, but it had only been a week and she couldn't expect to get a handle on this right away. She also hadn't made much progress with Leo. He hadn't said anything to her or about her since their fight. He ignored her in class and only acknowledged her when he had to during training. And that was alright with her. At least he wasn't acting rude towards her anymore.

Selene leaned against the plush armchair of the settee, her notebook open in her lap and her textbook open, levitating inches in front of her face.

"Thanks for showing me how to do this." Selene said with a smile as she turned the page to start on the next math problem.

Ellaria and Christine smiled at her. Christine sat cross-legged on the other end of the settee, her book open in her lap, while Ellaria sat on the ottoman, her back perfectly straight.

"Levitation is one of the easier spells," Ellaria explained. "We can teach you some more if you'd like."

"Thank you." Selene chimed. "I feel like I'm so far behind everyone with this whole magic thing."

"Don't feel that way," Christine reassured her. "Everyone learns at a different pace, and we all have our weaknesses and our strengths. Example, you're far better at math than I am."

Ellaria chuckled. "And me, I can hardly count!"

The three girls erupted into laughter, earning them a loud hush from someone on the other side of the room. Most days after dinner, everyone in class would gather in the parlor, to socialize or do homework. It wasn't necessarily a rule to be quiet, but it was respectful to be so that others could do their homework in peace. It was a lovely room, very spacious with lots of seating, large windows allowing natural light to flood in and giving students a lovely view of the gardens.

"I think my brain is turning into mush." Selene groaned. "I need a break."

"Same," Ellaria groaned, her textbook slamming shut. She reached into her bookbag, retrieving a small plastic bag, tied with a pretty red ribbon. Inside were cookies she'd save from dessert. "Cookie break?"

"Cookie break!" Christine enthusiastically agreed.

The girls all took a cookie, happily scarfing down the sugary sweets. They were the among some of best cookies that Selene had ever tasted in her life. They were fluffy, and gooey, and sweet on her tongue. There was almost no better taste in all the world. Almost. No matter how nice and fancy these royal cookies were they would never be as good as her Abuela's cookies. A surge of homesickness began to course through her veins at the thought of her family on Earth. She missed their smiles and their hugs, and the way that they just loved her. She missed them more than anything. Maybe she should ask Alex if she could send them a letter or something-

"Are you seriously eating more cookies?"

The loud voice boomed and shook Selene from her thoughts. She looked up to see a boy, eyeing Ellaria with a crude look on his face. This was one of the boys who was friends with Ratboy and Snakeboy. Selene remembered he was the one who asked Ellaria to be his dance partner during Etiquette Class. He was handsome, the classic fairytale depiction of a Prince. His eyes narrowed at Ellaria, looking annoyed.

"I can eat whatever I want." Ellaria snapped, rolling her eyes back at him.

To spite him, she picked up another cookie and shoved it into her mouth, allowing her back to slouch slightly.

The boy seethed, his jaw clenched tightly.

"You're a Lady, you should be acting like one." He reminded her harshly. "It's bad enough that you are hanging out with this lowly peasant and that- that thing!"

The boy gestured to Selene and Christine. Selene rolled her eyes, she thought about saying something very unladylike, but ultimately decided against it.

 _'I am not a Thing, little piece of sh-'_

Huh, looks like she wasn't the only one thinking unlady-like things.

"They are my friends and you will respect them if you respect me." Ellaria seethed, standing up quickly from her seat.

A moment of silence passed between them after those words left Ellaria's mouth. A wave of sadness washed over Selene when she realized the truth. He didn't respect her.

"Now, leave us," Ellaria added. "That is an order."

The boy stepped closer to her. Even with the height difference, Ellaria didn't move or flinch.

"I don't take orders from you." He whispered harshly, a certain amount of warning in his voice.

Ellaria chuckled darkly. "That's a funny joke."

The boy scowled at her one last time before turning swiftly on his heel and walking away. Ellaria looked completely pissed off, her face completely red. She took a deep breath to release the tension, finding herself calmer by the second.

"What was that about?" Selene finally asked.

Ellaria rolled her eyes.

"Jon of Dur," Ellaria explained, her voice bland. "Prince of the Idiots."

"He's your dance partner," Christine recalled. "Why do you bother to partner with him?"

Ellaria let out another long breath. Her voice sounded sad as she spoke. "If I danced with a Prince that was not my intended, then my mother would have my head."

Her what? Selene nearly choked on her cookie at those words. Intended? But that meant-

"I'm sorry," The words came out of Selene's mouth like a confused squeak. "Your what?"

Ellaria pressed her lips together tightly. "We're engaged. We've been engaged since we were children."

Selene took a moment to process the information, her mouth hanging open slightly. Oh. Ellaria clearly was not marrying this man on her own accord. No, this had been set up. Selene's heart immediately sank for the beautiful girl that sat in front of her. There was clearly so much ambition and compassion within her, and she was going to be stuck with someone who didn't recognize her greatness. Ellaria was going to be forced into a loveless and possibly unhealthy marriage.

"That's not fair." The words seemed to burst out of her, she hadn't meant to yell. Selene received a harsh 'hush' from the other students.

"I agree that it's not fair," Christine nodded. "I consider myself lucky that I will never be stuck in a forced engagement. I realize that sometimes the couples learn to love one another... But Jon doesn't seem like the type who will mature anytime soon, nor does he seem like the type that will ever fall in love with you." A frown crossed the young girl's face. "I'm sorry that you have to live with such a vile person, you deserve a better man."

Ellaria smiled solemnly to herself.

' _Or a girl…'_ Ellaria's smile fell and her eyes immediately widened in horror as her head shot up to meet Selene's gaze. ' _Please pretend you didn't hear that._ '

Selene was about to nod, or say something reassuring, but was interrupted by Christine.

"Some boys mellow out though," Christine continued, turning to Selene this time. "So I think you and Leonidas are going to be okay."

Selene dropped her cookie, but she couldn't be bothered to pick it up, or fret about the mess it had made upon hitting the floor. Her eyes widened to the size of dish plates and her jaw immediately went slack. She almost didn't comprehend what her friend had said.

' _Oh no…'_ Ellaria's voice echoed in the young girl's head.

"What about Leo?" Selene asked, slowly and cautiously.

A look of horror crossed Christine's face, as though she was terrified.

"I'm so sorry," She quickly apologized. "Are you two not? I thought that King Alexander…"

Selene could hear the blonde's breathing becoming increasingly shallow.

"It's okay," Selene quickly reassured her. "I'm not angry. I'm just confused."

Christine took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed…" Christine apologized again. "I just thought that, you know, you two always have meetings with King Alexander during last period. I thought that meant he was training both of you to take over the kingdom together."

Selene thought about it. To an outsider, it looked odd. She could see why Christine would jump to such a conclusion. Afterall, she was technically the heir to the kingdom. In retrospect, since Leo had already planned on taking over Byzantium and Mewni upon his father's retirement, it made sense that people would assume they had arrangements to be married. But Selene knew better. She knew that Alex wanted his son to choose someone for himself, rather than force his son into an arranged marriage.

That is when a terrifying thought occurred to her.

"Does everyone think that?" Selene questioned.

Christine and Ellaria shared a look and Selene covered her face with her hands, groaning loudly.

"Not everyone," Ellaria admitted. "Most people either think it's engagement or you're dating, and then there's Rhaella and Castilla who both believe they'll end up married to Leo and yeah, it's messy."

"Well, I'm glad I know the truth now." Christine sighed. "I'm sorry again for assuming."

' _This is why I think you should tell her the truth.'_ Ellaria's voice came again.

Maybe Ellaria was right. Maybe she should tell Christine what was really going on. That the training that she and Leo were doing was anything but learning how to take over the kingdom. She should probably tell Eliot as well. It seemed like the most logical thing to do would be to tell them together. Soon. When she found the courage to do so. She didn't want them to think she was weird.

"I think I'm done for tonight," Selene told her friends, packing up her books. "Walk me back to my dorm?"

The two nodded, collecting their belongings and following Selene out of the parlor. The hallway was empty, save for a few maids dusting and sweeping. They smiled and were generally friendly, but tragically ignored. It was then that she decided to ask.

"Do people think I'm here to reclaim Mewni?"

Christine almost stopped in her tracks.

"You're not?" She asked, confused.

"No," Selene admitted. "It's, um, complicated..."

Christine nodded, Selene knew that she was curious but didn't want to ask for fear of being too intrusive. Ellaria glanced at her knowingly, Selene shrugged at her discreetly.

"Well, I guess everyone sort of assumed that you were here to take the throne from Leo." Christine continued. "It was either you two were getting married or fighting to the death."

That fighting to the death idea could very much still happen, Selene thought with a dark chuckle.

"After your mother left Mewni, everyone assumed the Butterfly lineage had ended," Christine explained. "The Butterfly family brought a lot of good to Mewni and, If I'm being honest, I think some people were ecstatic to hear that a Butterfly had returned to Mewni. Although, I do understand why your mom left."

Selene stopped in the middle of the hallway. A million thoughts raced through her head, but one persisted over all of them.

"Why do you know so much about my mom?" She asked.

Christine and Ellaria smiled at each other again.

"Selene," Christine replied. "Your parents are a fairytale."

Selene raised an eyebrow at them. "Seriously? A fairytale?" She chuckled.

"She ran away from her wedding and left everything to be with the man she loves," Ellaria added. "It's romantic. A whole generation of Princesses were inspired to break off forced engagements to marry for love, and some kingdoms outlawed arranged marriages entirely."

Huh, her mother did all of that and inspired other girls to defy their roles. That was insane to her, and at the same time fascinating. She knew that her mom was a badass, but she didn't realize how much of a badass she truly was. And it was awesome!

"However, then you have people like my mom who thought it was a bad thing." Ellaria sounded frustrated. "Auntie Emma was the one who Uncle Alex ended up marrying instead of your mom, my mom thought her sister was foolishly abandoning her duties to her own betrothed by running off with a Prince." Ellaria rolled her eyes. "As if becoming Queen was abandoning her duties… The point is, not everyone thought it to be good. Some had completely forgotten that Queen Moon hadn't been the kindest ruler, or faithful wife, and they defended her actions."

"Do you," Selene started cautiously. "Do you know what happened to her? To Queen Moon?"

"All I recall ever hearing is that she died," Ellaria responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "She and the man she was with were murdered shortly after they were exiled, I believe. Queen Moon had a lot of enemies."

Selene had always assumed that her grandparents were dead. But getting confirmation, especially now knowing what happened, it made her sad. Even if she knew that her Grandmother wasn't the best person, it felt unsettling finding out that she was murdered. Nobody deserved to have their life end like that, nobody.

"Well, this is my room." Christine stopped in front of the door, retrieving her key from the pocket of her blazer. "Have a good night!"

Ellaria and Selene smiled in return.

"Sweet dreams." Selene wished her friend.

Christine smiled and gently shut the door behind her. Then Ellaria bid her friend good night and retired to her room across the hall. Leaving Selene alone. Her room felt lonely without a roommate. She liked it at first, but seeing how quickly all of the other girls had gotten close with their roommates, it made her feel slightly left out. Selene dropped her bag to the floor and collapsed onto her bed, only to land on something hard. Hard and flat and definitely not her duvet. Selene quickly sat up and looked down at her blanket, pulling it back slowly to reveal a book. It was a notebook, a pink notebook with a large butterfly on it. It looked old, dusty and faded, the pages slowly growing yellow. A small post-it note was on the cover.

' _I heard you wanted to know the past, maybe this will help.'_

Curiously, she opened the book, nearly gasping at the first words she saw.

'Property of Princess Moon, Keep Out!'

This was her Grandmother's diary. But how? Where had this come from? Who had given it to her? Should she read it? As curious as she was to know the truth, it felt wrong to invade someone's privacy, even if that person was dead. But then, there was a voice, a teeny voice in the back of her mind. ' _One page wouldn't hurt,_ ' the voice said. She couldn't argue with that logic.

She flipped open the book, her eyes immediately going wide with shock. Instead of seeing pages of delicately written words, all she saw were blank pages. She flipped all the way to the end. And nothing. Confusion clouded her mind until the pages began to sparkle and glow. All at once a bright white light encapsulated her, blinding her with its brilliance.

When the light faded, the room looked different. It was larger and instead of pink there were hues of purple and blue, giving the room a cheery atmosphere. The chandelier was different as well, larger as the ceiling was higher here. The view, however, was mostly the same. The room looked out over the gardens, but instead of grand topiaries she saw a beautiful rose garden. The most peculiar thing was the girl, sitting on the bed, looking down at the same diary Selene had found. The girl looked to be her age with long white hair and stunning blue eyes.

She had seen those eyes before. They were the eyes of a kind woman who had read her bedtime stories as a child, and brushed her hair, and lovingly kissed her forehead. Those were her mother's eyes. But that was not her mother. Her mother didn't have white hair, or tiny diamonds on her cheeks.

"Hello?" Selene cautiously asked. "Who are you?"

The girl didn't respond.

 _'It's a memory.'_ The voice whispered. _'She can't hear you.'_

A memory. That made sense. She must have been seeing Queen Moon's memories. Meaning…

Selene looked back at the young girl, who had stood up from the bed and began pacing around her room.

She was Moon. Her grandmother. At the age of fourteen, fifty years ago.

Selene watched the girl pace around her room, a certain amount of purpose and elegance in her step. She began stepping in an odd sequence of steps, turning her body slowly as she did. Selene recognized the steps, they were the same ones she had been learning in Etiquette class. She was practicing waltzing. She watched Moon for a few minutes, seeing her stumble and fall only to scold herself and then try again from the beginning. She had the most determined look that Selene had ever seen on a teenager's face.

A knock on the door caused Moon to halt where she stood. She smoothed out her hair and her skirt before clearing her throat.

"You may enter." She called.

A man entered the room, judging by his outfit Selene guessed that he was a Squire. He bowed to the Princess politely.

"Your mother has returned from signing the Peace Treaty." The Squire informed her. "All was successful, a ball is being held tonight to honour and uphold this treaty."

"Thank you." A large smile appeared on Moon's face. "You are dismissed."

The moment the Squire shut the door, Moon jumped onto her bed giddily, clutching her pillow to her chest. She seemed so happy, so carefree. Selene wondered what could have happened to make her so vile. She seemed almost normal.

That's when the scene shifted again, and suddenly Selene was in a grand ballroom. She had seen this ballroom, it was the one she'd seen during the tour her first day at the castle. However, it wasn't as empty as it had been then. Now there were people crowded around, talking to each other in a variety of different tongues. Everyone was dressed so extravagantly, in black tuxedos and colourful ball gowns. Everything was elegant and beautiful and perfect in every sense of the word. Is this what a ball looked like? Everyone looked so happy, the room was bursting with energy and Selene wanted nothing more than to lose herself in the feeling.

Then there was Moon. She was standing with a woman with purple butterflies on her cheeks. She assumed due to the uncanny resemblance, that this was Moon's mother. What was with the women in her family and weird cheek makeup? She had always thought her mother's was merely an aesthetic choice, apparently, it was not.

"I don't see why you had to invite those… things…" Moon spat, glaring at a group of well-dressed reptile-looking creatures.

"They signed the treaty as well," The older woman reminded her daughter. "And they are citizens of this land. I find their company enjoyable."

Moon crossed her arms and grumbled something unintelligible. A few minutes passed and a young man walked up to Moon and her mother, he looked anxious as he bowed and extended his hand.

"May I have this dance, Milady?" His voice quaked.

Moon rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but her mother interrupted her.

"River Johansen, how lovely to see you." The woman marveled. "Moon, would love to dance with you, wouldn't you?"

Selene could tell that Moon wanted to scream, that she didn't want to dance with the boy bowing before her. But she would. Because it was her duty as a Princess. So she took the young man's hand and, well, he was the worst dancer that Selene had ever seen. Constantly stepping on her feet, having to apologize every few steps, the fact that she was at least six inches taller than him didn't help. He seemed so nervous, and Selene really did feel for him. It must take a lot of courage to ask a woman to dance, and even more to ask a Princess.

And then it happened, River took a misstep and caused Moon to trip. She fell ungracefully to the floor, landing flat on her face. She looked completely disheveled and disorderly, her face turning bright red. Everyone in the ballroom was looking at her. She noticed some of the reptilian creatures snickering and laughing at the Princess. To which Moon shot a crude glance as she stood up. She marched straight towards the laughing reptilians, who immediately stopped when they noticed the fire in her eyes. People stepped aside for their Princess, and whoever didn't move was rudely shoved out of her path.

"You ungrateful little roaches!" Moon was livid, her fists and jaw clenching tightly. "You don't even belong on this land let alone at this party! I promise you that when I become Queen, you will never see another party like this, ever!"

She huffed and walked away, storming out of the ballroom. She wanted nothing to do with any of this, of the monster, of that boy who tripped her. Nothing, none of that.

"Hey, wait!" She heard a voice call.

A boy was standing there. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair that fell perfectly around his face and a perfect smile. He approached her slowly, bowing respectfully at her feet.

"Nero Johansen." He introduced. He took her hand and gently placed a kiss on her knuckle.

Selene wanted to laugh at how cheesy the scene was. But she had to admit, this guy had some smooth moves.

"Moon Butterfly." She replied, her cheeks flushed.

"I know," Nero smirked. "I just wanted you to know, that was really cool of you, to stand up for yourself against those idiots. I don't understand why a peace treaty was necessary, not when they can be so easily wiped out."

Selene's mouth dropped open. This man was terrible. They were both terrible. The whole scene made Selene uncomfortable. She took back what she said about Moon not being vile, she was definitely always terrible.

The light appeared again, and suddenly Selene was back in Moon's bedroom. But things were different now. The window looking out to the rose garden had been boarded up, what looked like a veil and a bouquet were lying on the bed, and a diploma from a place called 'St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses' hung on the wall. Selene turned and saw Moon, older now, probably eighteen. Her hair was done up in a fashionable updo and she was wearing a long white wedding gown. A nursemaid was fussing over her dress and the same Squire that Selene had seen before was standing next to her.

"Your Majesty," He sounded frantic. "I know that this is your decision as Queen, but I must ask you to reconsider."

Moon glared at the Squire angrily. "Mewni is mine, I can revoke a stupid treaty if I want to."

"Queen Moon," The Squire pleaded. "If you do this, the consequences will be dire!"

"It is my decision," Moon snapped. "Go, both of you. Now!"

The Squire and the nursemaid quickly scurried out of the room, leaving a dejected Moon by herself. She sat on the bed, looking down in defeat.

Then there came a knock at the door.

"Enter." She called meekly.

Selene looked up to see the same boy from the previous memory, the one who kissed her hand and fed her cruel delusions.

"Nero." Her face immediately became brighter.

"Hello, Moon." He smiled, pulling her up and snaking his arms around her waist.

"Easy there," Moon reminded him. "I'm marrying your brother in a few hours."

Nero didn't listen, he simply pressed his lips to hers, then he kissed her jaw, then her neck. Selene gagged and looked away. She did not need to see her grandmother getting it on. That was definitely number one on a hypothetical list of things that she never, ever, wanted to witness. But then Moon pushed Nero away.

"I can't." She whispered. "I have a duty to Mewni."

"You're miserable," Nero pointed out, caressing her face. "Come away with me, please."

Moon shook her head, turning away from him.

"I'm sorry." Moon turned away from him.

It was clear that Moon was angry with her life. So she took it out on other people. She took it out on her husband by having an affair with his brother. She took it out on the monsters by stripping them of their rights. And eventually, she would take it out on her daughter, by being flat out cruel and abusive to her.

Then there was another flash of light, and the memories faded.

Selene was left alone in her room. Now that she knew what her mother had to deal with, it only made her feel more grateful that she had such a wonderful mother. She looked down at the journal, letting it fall closed in her hands before hiding it under her bed.

She turned out her light and tucked herself into bed, the memories she had witnessed continued to dance behind her closed eyes.

* * *

 **Avery:** So I know I had to fit in Moon's backstory somehow. So yeah, Moon is dead. I like to think that the entire series would be different had Moon's mother not been murdered when she went to sign the peace treaty, so this is that alternate history. Queen Comet signed the peace treaty, invited all the monsters to a ball, her daughter was terrible to them and was immediately sent to St. Olga's and was cut off from everything she loved. She was forced into a marriage with River even though she loved his brother. And, yeah, that's her backstory.

Thank you for reading, I'll see you in the new year!


	12. The Lesson

The Lesson

 **Avery:** Aloha my friends. How is life? Welcome to chapter 12. I hope that you enjoy it.

* * *

Everything around her is breathtakingly beautiful. The lush green grass goes on for miles, the gentle breeze carries with it the smell of flowers and morning dew. The sky is brilliantly blue, and songbirds fill the air with music. And there's the tree, the weeping willow that sits upon the hill. And her. She looks slightly older now than she did before. She has daisies tangled in her hair and a sweet smile on her pink lips. The wind blows through her hair, dark curls billowing in the wind; and the sun kisses her face, illuminating her in an ethereal glow. She looks like magic, if such a thing could be personified. She was beauty and light.

It's been a few days now, but Selene still has these dreams, still sees her. She can't shake the feeling that she knows who this girl is, or she's supposed to know. She knows those eyes, she's seen them before, but for the life of her, she can't remember where. Selene can't figure out why she is seeing her, there had to be some reason. Sometimes the girl is alone, picking the wildflowers, and singing, and swooning at everything. Other times there is a boy with her, one with bright yellow eyes; or she's with a woman bearing a similar likeness to her own. But one thing always stays constant, her smile. No matter what, the girl is always cheerful and smiling.

"Everything was perfect once." The voice in Selene's head is always the same. She's calm and gentle, always there. Always whispering.

Selene can feel her presence, sense her being behind her. She is watching. She's always in these dreams, and Selene can't help but wonder if she is causing them in some way. Somehow, these visions are being conjured by forces beyond her control. Someone is connecting her and the young girl in her vision. But what? And why?

"Why do you show me her?" Selene asked, watching the young girl pick wildflowers.

"Shh," She whispers, Selene can feel her breath tickling her ear. "Watch."

And so she does. She watches as the happy girl lies down on the cool grass, her hair fanned around her face like a crown. She looks so sweet and carefree. Selene wonders what it would have been like to know this girl, she thinks it would have been nice to have a friend like her. Someone so positive and free. The girl watches the sky for hours. She watches the sun as it travels across the sky and counts the clouds as they float in the endless blue atmosphere, taking the shape of everything and nothing. Soon enough, the sun begins to lower in the sky, leaving behind hues of orange and gold, turning the clouds shades of pink and purple. Eventually, the hues of orange and gold fade away, finally giving way to an indigo sky dotted with a thousand stars. Time seems to go quicker and Selene watches as the young girl closes her eyes, humming a lullaby to herself before drifting off to sleep on a bed of flowers underneath the stars.

"These are my memories." Voice whispered, a sense of melancholy washing over her.

Selene finally turned around to look at her, watching curiously as her eyes changed from grey to green. Selene was an inquisitive girl by nature, she always had questions, always wanted to know more about things she found mysterious. And this woman was definitely mysterious. She smiled so warmly and her eyes seemed to twinkle just as much as they changed. Selene wanted to know who she was just as much as she wanted to know the girl.

"Who are you?" She asked.

She smiled, a glimmer lurking behind her eyes. She seemed so patient and kind. A stranger who could become a friend.

"You've been having trouble controlling those abilities of yours," The woman observed. "I would like to offer you my assistance."

Selene's eyes widened in both curiosity and scepticism. But also enthusiasm.

"Really?" She inquired excitedly. "You can do that?"

"Of course," The woman replied, her smile widening. "In exchange, I'll need your assistance when the time comes. Do you understand, Selene?"

Before Selene can open her mouth, the vision vanishes.

The shrill cry of her alarm clock pulls her from slumber. She lies awake in her bed, lazily rubbing her eyes. She pulls off her duvet, the cold air immediately finding and encasing her body, she shivers as she gets out of bed. She can't stop thinking about the dream as she brushes her teeth and her hair. She has been having these dreams for days. She sees the same girl every time, the same meadow, the same tree. It doesn't just feel like a dream either. She can feel the wind, and smell the flowers, and hear the birds. It's so vivid and real. It doesn't feel like she's in a dream. It feels like she's there. Like she's living exactly what that girl lived. It's confusing and cool and terrifying all at the same time.

The thought of this girl and her words stayed with Selene all day. She could hardly keep herself focused in her classes. All she could do all day was sit at her desk, anxiously fiddle with her pen, and think about the situation. This woman who Selene had seen only in her dreams wanted to help her control her abilities. King Alexander was doing his best, and they hadn't been training long, she couldn't expect to control her powers this soon. However, she was beginning to get impatient, and frustrated. Even Leo was progressing faster than her. It was annoying that he was naturally so much better than her with all of this magic stuff. Speaking of which…

Selene turned in her seat, only to notice the boy staring at the back of her head, only to quickly turn away when he was caught. She thought it was strange. Leo was very peculiar.

Whenever she was in the same room as him she could feel his eyes on her, watching her intently. Especially when they were in class she would turn and find him staring at her. She wasn't sure what to think about it. And the fact that she didn't know what he was thinking made it even worse. He continued to avoid her like she was some sort of disease. She hadn't done anything to try to provoke him, so she wasn't sure why he was still avoiding her. Sometimes there were moments where she would willingly give up the ability to read everybody else's minds just to read his for a moment. No matter how awful he seemed, there was a part of Selene that felt bad for him. He didn't seem interested in socializing with his classmates. He didn't acknowledge the girls when they fawned over him and he didn't talk to the boys or join in their crazy antics. The only person that she's ever seen him talk to is Ellaria, and even then he seemed to limit the time he spent with her. Selene felt bad that he was alone. But at the same time, she knew it was his own decision. He could have talked to her if he wanted to, or with any of the other royals. Many of them weren't too bad. He hardly said a word to anyone, most days Selene only heard him speak if he had raised his hand to answer a question. Part of her wondered if she would ever know more about him. If it was possible for them to become, at the very least, civil with one another.

It was after the school day had concluded when Selene trudged off to meet Alexander in his study, Ellaria walking by her side.

"Uncle Alex asked me to join you today." She explained with a joyful smile across her face. "He said he needed a helper."

Selene smiled. At least having a friend there would make this experience slightly more bearable. The two walked together through the winding halls, keeping a comfortable silence along the way. Ellaria kept her mind mostly blank, as she had begun to do around Selene. When thoughts did travel from Ellaria's head to Selene's they were mostly regarding schoolwork or her home. She was getting better at keeping her thoughts hidden, especially after the slip up a few days ago. One that neither of them had talked about since. Selene didn't want to ask, not knowing if Ellaria was willing to talk about it yet or not. If she meant what Selene thought she meant, that she truly did like girls, then she hoped that Ellaria would one day be ready to talk to her about it. For now, she wouldn't push it. She knew first hand that one had to be ready to talk about this.

The two approached the office door, stopping only when they heard the loud, yet muffled, voices coming from inside the room. Ellaria paused curiously, cautiously pressing her ear to the door. She smirked.

"Somebody's in trouble." She whispered, her voice a teasing song.

Selene had been raised to believe that eavesdropping was rude, but she was curious. She heard Leo's voice, he sounded defensive, but also scared.

"I didn't know about that when I took it." His voice sounded almost meek.

"This is why you should have asked me first." That was Alexander's voice.

Ellaria and Selene looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They did not know the nature of this fight, but it was clearly something serious.

"It doesn't matter now," Alexander sighed. "Just give it back now. And don't take anything from my desk without asking again, understood?"

There was a short silence.

"I- uh, I understand, father," Leo stammered. "But um, I don't actually have it anymore."

Selene could practically see the disdain on Alexander's face. She could definitely hear it in his voice. After that, the voices became quieter and harder to understand. She could hear Leo's usual monotony return to his voice, meaning that their fight was most likely over. It was probably safe for them to enter now, but neither made a move. Instead, they stayed silently outside of the room, still listening.

"Just ask for it." Alexander's voice came again. He sounded significantly calmer now.

"I can't," Leo replied. "I can't talk to…"

Ellaria knocked quickly on the door. Disturbing whatever Leo was leading up to.

"Uncle Alex," She called. "It's us."

A moment later, Alexander opened the door. He smiled kindly at the two girls and held the door open for them.

"Perfect," He chimed. "Right on time."

Selene took her usual seat, across from Leo. For the last few days, these sessions have consisted mostly of breathing techniques and meditation. Which were all fine, but boring, and both of the teenagers were itching to try something new. Ellaria sat between them, waiting attentively for further instructions. Alexander circled the three of them, his step so light that he hardly made a sound.

"Thank you for joining us Ella," Alexander started. Ellaria smiled in response. "How was your day?"

"Very good." Ellaria replied cheerfully.

"Glad to hear it." Alexander replied, playfully ruffling her dark curls.

Alexander then turned to Selene, crouching slightly to meet her level.

"How about you?" He asked patiently. "Has the ability been causing you any discomfort?"

"A little," Selene admitted. "Sometimes when I'm in class there are so many thoughts coming at once that it hurts."

"Well, we're going to figure out how to fix that." He replied, smiling confidently.

There were moments when Alexander was intense and serious. But other times, something about him was fatherly. Whenever he talked to her, it reminded her of the way her own father spoke to her. There was a certain amount of comfort to find in that. In his gestures and his mannerisms. But despite all of that, he wasn't her father. She loved her father and missed him dearly. There was the pang of homesickness again. At times like these, she wished more than anything that she could talk to her parents.

"Let's get started," Alexander announced. "Ella, if you could stand please."

Ellaria stood as she was told, and Selene followed a moment later.

"Now, I want the two of you to look at each other," Alexander instructed. "My sister took a few months to master this skill, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it right away."

Selene nodded and waited for Alexander to continue.

"Now, breathe," Alexander told her calmly. Selene listened, breathing deeply. "I want you to listen to Ella's thoughts, what is she thinking?"

 _'Apple._ ' The thought travelled from Ellaria's head to Selene's.

"Apple." Selene replied.

"Alright," Alexander continued. "Now I want you to imagine a gate in front of you. Do you see it?"

She could. It was a giant wrought iron gate, like the one at the entrance to the castle, the doors wide open and inviting.

"Is the gate open?" Alexander inquired.

"Yes, it's open." Selene replied, nodding her head quickly.

"Good." Alexander nodded. "Now I want you to visualize closing that gate, see it close off your brain, seal the thoughts from coming in."

Selene tried doing what she had been told. She imagined the gates closing, she could hear the rusty metal in her ears as the gates closed with a clang.

"It's closed." She informed Alexander.

"Perfect." Alexander replied. "Now, Ellaria, think about something different now."

Selene stared at Ellaria intently. Or maybe she shouldn't concentrate too much, maybe the concentration was what was causing this. Maybe she shouldn't try to read her mind. Not that she understood how she was doing it in the first place. God, she was nervous. She really wanted this to work.

' _Plum.'_

And there it was. She knew she couldn't expect to fix this right away. But she had hoped…

"Plum." She had never sounded so defeated.

Alexander, however, smiled at her. He was reassuring her.

"It's alright." He comforted her. "These things happen, keep trying."

Alexander's encouragement was helpful. So she decided to try again. The gate was still in front of her, still closed. She imagined the walls growing taller, growing stronger. Maybe the foundation had to be sturdier in order to block the thoughts from coming through.

Selene looked at Ellaria again, who nodded subtly.

 _'Cherry.'_

This time, hearing the thought wasn't as disappointing. What had she expected, really?

"Cherry." Selene spoke, turning to look at Alexander.

The tall man nodded.

"You'll get better at controlling this," Alexander promised. "Don't worry."

Selene nodded curtly. Alexander returned to his desk, taking a seat in his usual chair. It was then that Selene noticed the pile of books sitting on his desk, the pile was small but the books were thick. The pages were yellow and faded, held together only by leather binding. Leo seemed to be curious about them as well, looking at them as though he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"What are those books?" Leo was the first to ask.

Selene was a bit surprised that he did not know what the books were, maybe he didn't know as much about all of this as she thought he did.

Alexander picked the top book from the pile.

"These," He began to explain. "Were for later, but since you two seem fairly curious, I'll show you now."

All three teens leaned forward in their seats as Alexander opened the book.

"These books contain everything that is known about your powers," Alexander continued. "Everything that I know is written in these pages."

He handed one of the books to Leo and another to Selene, he held the third in his hands. His eyes travelled across the three teen's faces.

"I apologize Ella, but the rest of this session will probably be boring for you." Alexander warned.

"I don't mind." Ellaria smiled, leaning over Selene to look at her book. Her smile slowly faded. "What language is that?"

"I can't understand this." Selene remarked in confusion.

"Neither can I." Leo agreed, he squinted at the words, hoping that they would somehow come together and began making sense in his mind.

"Those two are in Latin," Alexander explained. "I apologize that I do not have translated versions."

Selene ran her fingers across the foreign words. Fortunately, there were pictures, and lots of them. Depictions of deities and of darkness and light, plus one symbol that seemed to reoccur every few pages. The yin-yang. She thought it was odd to see the symbol in a book from another dimension considering that the symbol was from Earth. Unless, of course, it wasn't. It hadn't occurred that maybe Earth had been in contact with the multiverse and adopted some of their cultures. Including the yin-yang. A symbol of light and dark. A symbol of perfect balance.

"Then what's that book?" Leo asked, referring to the one that Alexander still held in his hands.

Selene and Ellaria looked up from her book to see Alexander looking down at the cover, he looked frustrated. Almost annoyed or angry. Selene couldn't tell which. There was something behind his eyes, some sort of intensity that existed there, and Selene wasn't sure what it meant. She had never seen a man look at a book so angrily.

"It isn't in any known language." He replied, he was trying not to sound too frustrated, but he was. "I spent many years trying to find someone who could translate this book, but it's impossible. It isn't even remotely similar to any known languages."

He lays the book open on the desk to show the teens, who crowd around the desk curiously. Selene's eyes travelled across the pages. These words, they weren't like words she'd ever seen before. Letters that she couldn't even recognize. Just looking at this page was starting to give Selene a headache.

"I hope that one day I can decipher it." He continued. "I think that this book may hold the key to stopping this, to saving you."

All three sets of ears perked up at his choice of words. Saving them? That implied that they were in some kind of danger. But they weren't, they were safe in the castle. Weren't they?

"Saving us?" Leo questioned. Although Selene couldn't read his mind, she could see his brain working behind his eyes.

"Help, help you." Alexander seemed to be tripping over his words.

Selene could barely think, the longer she stared at this page the more her head hurt. It was like there was something inside of her head, clawing its way out. Everything was so excruciatingly painful that she wasn't sure what to do.

"Selene!" Ellaria yelled with urgency. "You're bleeding."

Selene wiped her nose, only to see blood drenching her hand when she did. She looked down in horror as the blood trailed quickly down her face and began to drip on the marble floor. She felt so dizzy, her surrounding slowly going blurry.

"Selene?" She could barely hear Alexander's calming voice, nor see his face beyond a blurry grey blob. "Come, sit down."

He attempted to carefully lead her back to her seat, but Selene didn't move, she couldn't. She could only stand and stare down at the page. The book… It was doing something to her. The pain only grew, which only terrified the young girl more. It was torturous, unbearable, and she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something inside of her head.

Then she broke.

All at once, Selene let out a blood-curdling scream.

Everything hurt, everything inside of her body was burning, like her insides were tearing themselves apart. She barely heard the sound of glass shattering and hitting the floor, she didn't hear Ellaria's cries for help, nor see the look of terror on the faces of every person in that room.

And then it was gone, and Selene fell.

Three faces appeared above her, all with matching looks of panic, concern, and shock. They were blurry, but Selene was aware of them. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but she could not get a single word out. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move, and all she could hear was a loud ringing. Did she have a seizure? Was she even still alive? She was definitely about to lose consciousness, and that terrified her more than anything else.

Alexander stood up slowly. The look on his face was grave. He closed the book and placed it back on the appropriate shelf.

"Leo, Ella," He spoke slowly. "Carry her back to her room, I will send a medic to her room."

The two nodded. Leo was the one to scoop her up, carrying her just as one might carry a princess, with care. The boy had never seen anything like that, and as much as he hated to admit it, it terrified him. Ellaria opened the door for him, tears in her eyes as she walked beside him, keeping a slow pace. She looked petrified, her face was white as a sheet. Leo thought it might be appropriate to say something encouraging, to comfort her, but he could find no words. He looked down at Selene, whose head rested against his chest. She was half-conscious still, but probably unaware of what was happening. He silently wondered what she would say if she was fully conscious. She would probably tell him to let go of her.

"Leo," Ellaria finally spoke, her voice meek and trembling. "What exactly are your powers?"

Leo shook his head. He had told Ella everything he knew. But clearly, everything that he knew wasn't truly everything. He didn't know the full situation.

"I don't even know anymore." He replied solemnly.

The rest of the walk was silent. Neither of them spoke or acknowledged each other. They didn't acknowledge anyone or anything around them either. They could be in a room filled with people and neither of them would even realize. It was tense, and neither one of them were certain about what they should do. They had been through a lot together, being such close cousins. But how were they supposed to deal with this?

Once they reached Selene's dorm, the girl had completely lost consciousness. She was still breathing, luckily, and her heart rate seemed normal. Leo lay Selene down on her bed, making sure she was resting comfortably. He carefully pulled her duvet over her body, tucking her in gently. It was then that Ellaria finally broke down.

Her legs gave out underneath her and she let out a terrified cry. Leo sat on the floor next to her, pulling her into his arms. Ellaria gripped the front of his blazer as she cried into his chest. He hasn't had to comfort her like this since they were children. He rubs her back in comforting circles while she cried and shook.

"Leo," Ellaria whimpered. "I'm scared."

Leo had never been the type to be candid when it came to feelings. But this was something even he couldn't hide.

"So am I."

* * *

 **Avery:** Oh look at that, things are getting angsty. I sure do hope that Selene is okay... I hope that you enjoyed and are excited for the next one. I hope to get the next one up soon.

See you in the next one!


	13. The Nightmare

The Nightmare

 **Avery:** This is gonna be a short one guys, very sorry but I am exhausted and this semester is much more demanding than my last. I'm trying my best, I promise. Damn, ya know, when I was writing Our Fairytale I was writing a chapter a day. Now writing a chapter is a process that actually takes time. But it isn't about the quantity of the chapters, it's about the quality. So I hope that you enjoy chapter 13!

* * *

Ellaria and Leo stayed in Selene's room while the doctor checked her. The doctor had seemed surprised by Leo's presence, considering the fact that boys weren't allowed in the girl's dorm rooms. But since he was the King's son she didn't say anything about it. Ellaria was adamant on staying with Selene until she woke up, even if it meant staying in the room with her all night. The doctor informed the two that Selene was fine. Her vitals showed that she was perfectly fine, she was healthy. There wasn't anything physically wrong with her. The doctor blamed the fainting spell on a lack of sleep and overexertion. This knowledge should have comforted Ellaria and Leo, but it didn't. All either of them could feel was dread and fear.

It was nearing curfew and the doctor had left hours ago, and Ellaria still had not left Selene's bedside. Leo had no intention of moving her, Ellaria would never listen to him anyways. She had always been so headstrong, and stubborn. She never did listen to him, even when they were children. So he didn't say anything as he watched her sit by her friend's bedside while he quietly completed homework in the corner. He would look up at them occasionally, Ellaria still not moving from her spot. Occasionally, she'd smile at him when he looked up, but for the most part her eyes were trained on Selene. He had no doubts that Ellaria would stay up all night for Selene. So when curfew drew near, he gave his cousin a spare blanket and pillow and helped her make a makeshift sleeping bag on the floor.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather sleep in your own bed?" He asked. "She'll be here when you wake up."

Ellaria looked at the sleeping girl on the bed, how peaceful she looked. She then turned back to her cousin, smiling sadly. They had both had a roller coaster of a day, and both had more questions now than they ever had before.

"I want to make sure she's okay." Ellaria assured him. "I won't leave her."

Leo nodded. He thought his cousin's actions were noble. He silently wondered if anyone would ever do something like this for him. If anyone would ever stay next to his bedside for hours to make sure he was alright.

"Goodnight Ella." He kissed the top of her head gently.

He looked over at Selene a final time. The sight of her lying motionless on the bed made him feel uncomfortable. The feeling was foreign to him, and he didn't like it. He didn't like feeling vulnerable, and he didn't couldn't shake a weird sense of guilt washing over him over the fact that he couldn't help her. He had never been kind to her, and he couldn't help but feel almost bad that he was rude to her. It was strange. He had never felt like this and he hated it.

He hadn't realized that he was staring until a small chuckle escaped his cousin's mouth.

"What?" The word came out much more harsh than he'd meant it.

Ellaria simply smiled like she knew a secret. Maybe she did. But Leo couldn't be bothered to figure it out.

"Goodnight Leo." She smirked.

The floor was hard and uncomfortable, even with the pillows and blankets that she'd set down. But Ellaria fell asleep shortly after Leo left. Her sleep was anything but peaceful. It was a fitful, dreamless sleep that was short-lived. In the wee hours of the morning she would be awoken by a painful screech. A screech that lurched her from sleep.

It was three in the morning, the room was dark. But in the shadows she could barely make out the figure of her friend flailing on her bed, limbs tangled in her sheets as she tossed and turned. She was making terrifying noises that sounded almost inhuman. Like something or someone was torturing her. Ellaria jumped up and rushed to her friend's bedside.

"Selene?" She called her name frantically.

Upon hearing her name, Selene stopped flailing, her body returning to its normal state. She was sleeping calm and serene again. But Ellaria wasn't calm. She was terrified. Tentatively, she reached out to touch her friend's sleeping form. She placed her hand gently on Selene's shoulder, attempting to wake her.

"Selene?" She called again, this time more gently. "Are you alright?"

Selene jerked under Ellaria's touch, slowly waking from her slumber. Selene's eyes opened slowly, she squinted and blinked in the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust. She looked up at Ellaria, recognizing the look of horror and concern on her face. The last thing she remembered was seeing that same face in Alexander's office before… Nothing… Everything after that moment was blank.

"What happened?" Selene asked, although she feared what the answer might be.

"You fainted in Uncle Alex's office," Ellaria explained. "The nurse said it might be stress that caused it."

Selene nodded and a long silence settled between them. They both knew it wasn't stress. Selene was going through a big adjustment, moving to another dimension where she didn't know anyone or anything. But if she was struggling to the point of suffering from fainting spells then she would have at least told Ellaria about it. She had no prior health conditions, she wasn't sleeping relatively badly, and she wasn't overly stressed. This was something else. Something terrifying.

"What do you remember?" Ellaria questioned, her hand moving to take Selene's.

Selene thought back to the office. Of the discomfort she felt when she saw that book, and the excruciating pain that followed. It was agonizing, like nothing that she had ever felt before. Not even the worst of her menstrual cramps had been that severe. But it also didn't feel the way menstrual cramps did. This felt as though someone or something was inflicting pain onto her, torturing her.

"I remember… pain…" Selene trailed off, her body beginning to tremble at the mere memory of how much it hurt. "Pain like something was trying to rip me apart, or like torture."

Ellaria wasn't sure how to respond to that. She had never seen anything like what Selene had gone through. Had never seen anyone's body contort in pain the way Selene's had. She was scared and she wanted to help her friend, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do for her. All she could do was sit by her bed and encourage her to rest.

"Do you want me to tell Professor Skadi that you won't be in class tomorrow?" Ellaria asked, gently caressing Selene's hair.

"I think I'll be okay." Selene felt determined, even though her head still ached.

"Sel, you need rest," Ellaria responded firmly. "You fainted, I don't think it would be right."

"I feel okay now." Selene protested.

Ellaria sent a hard glare in her direction. She knew that she couldn't force her friend to stay in bed tomorrow, even if she knew getting up was a bad idea. Ellaria sighed and tucked her friend in a bit tighter.

"Go to sleep." Ellaria whispered. "Maybe you'll change your mind."

"I won't." Selene replied defiantly, but smiled either way.

Selene curled around herself in the warmth of the bed, content to slip into a peaceful sleep.

If only that were possible.

In her dream, she was back on that grassy hill, underneath that big tree surrounded by flowers. But this time, the scene was devoid of any life. There was no young girl picking the flowers and weaving them into crowns, nor woman telling her about her powers. Even the peaceful song of the birds had gone, and replaced with only the sound of wind whistling in the leaves. It was a creepy silence, making everything seem more desolate and creepy. The sun was shining, but it did nothing to warm her surroundings, instead, she felt cold. Selene didn't feel at peace here like she normally did. In fact, she was terrified.

"You shouldn't have looked in that book." A voice whispered, it was raspy, and low, and utterly horrifying.

Selene looked around, but could see no one.

"Don't you know, Selene? Only the Angels can read the books."

Selene could feel the cold breath on her neck, causing her to shiver. The scene began to shift and change. Dark clouds moved to cover the sun, leaving her shrouded in darkness. The winds began to pick up, howling violently and whipping all around her. She felt constricted, like something was holding her in place. She was trapped.

"And you, you are no Angel." The voice rasped.

Selene felt her breath hitch and tears began to prick her eyes. She looked around furiously for the owner of the voice, but could find none. She could feel something touching her. It felt like blades just grazing her skin.

"They're going to kill you."

The voice sounded different. Like it was singing, teasing and prodding her. The words rang over and over again in her head. Getting faster and louder each time she heard them.

"They're going to kill you,

They're going to kill you.

They're going to kill you!"

Selene covered her ears as the wind picked up around her, the words on getting louder and prodding her more. It was becoming unbearable.

"Who are you?" She screamed. "What do you want from me?"

"They're going to kill you!

They're going to kill you!"

The voice felt so close. It was yelling in her ear. It was so close. It was like it was right next to her, all around her.

Right behind her.

Slowly, Selene turned where she stood, expecting to see the face of the woman she'd seen before. But instead, she came face to face with a headstone. The headstone looked like it had been sitting there for years. It had moss growing on it, and fresh flowers growing around it. But there was something off about it. The headstone sitting lonely atop the hill, all by itself.

The headstone with her name on it.

Printed clear as day.

Selene gasped loudly and stumbled back. The headstone… But how? She was alive, wasn't she? She was, she knew she was. But here she was, face to face with her final resting place. The thought sent panic into her chest and she began breathing heavily. She could feel her heart rate quickly increase, and she couldn't calm down. She hadn't had a panic attack in a while, and for the most part she knew how to handle them when they came. But this, this felt different. It felt so much worse.

"What is going on?!" She cried hysterically, tears beginning to stream down her face.

Everything stopped. The wind, they screaming, the pain. It felt, unsettling. All at once, the scenery fell away, and white blinding light took over her senses. She could see nothing above or below her, there was nothing but white for as far as she could see. She tried to scream again, but no words came out. Everything was silent.

And then-

"You have to kill him."

Selene shot up in her bed, her dream fading away as she regained consciousness. She heaved heavily, placing her head in her hands and rubbing her eyes. She felt, empty and terrified. It was like she was a child all over again. Having nightmares about the monsters under the bed and screaming until she woke up. But now she couldn't wander down the hallway and crawl into her parent's bed. Now she was on her own. Selene looked down at the makeshift bed, noticing Ellaria sleeping peacefully on the floor, her chest rising and falling as she drew breath. The sound of Ellaria's breathing was comforting, enough that Selene allowed her tired body to relax again. Maybe Ellaria was right. Maybe she did need to rest. Her head ached again and her throat felt sore, as though she was still screaming.

Selene lay her head back down on her pillow.

Rest.

All you need is rest.

* * *

 **Avery:** All I need is rest guys. No seriously I'm exhausted, is school over yet? All I do is schoolwork and play Stardew Valley and I am about five minutes away from falling asleep at my keyboard.

This chapter was a bit filler but also a bit important. I wanted to shed some light on the relationship between Ella and Leo because I feel like I need everyone to see how different he is when there's someone who he trusts enough to let his guard down around. So far, Ella is the only person that he feels comfortable around enough to tell personal things to and act like something other than a little brat.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed! See you in the next one!


	14. The Truth Part III

The Truth Part III

 **Avery:** Okay, I have a feeling that a lot of chapters are going to be called "The Truth" but there's a lot of truths that have to come to light so... yeah. Sorry updates get slow. School just seems to get harder and harder. Oh well, enjoy!

* * *

Selene sleeps through the morning. A dreamless slumber that she is thankful for. After the nightmare she's had, she's thankful to be allowed some peace. Nobody dares to try waking her until noon, when there's a knock at her door. The pounding on the door is light, but it's enough to rouse her from sleep. Her eyes are bleary and her room is blurry. Her head hurts as she slowly lifts her head off her pillow.

"Come in!" She calls.

The door opens up just a crack, light flooding into the previously dark room. Christine pokes her head in and smiles at Selene kindly. She flips on the light switch, causing Selene to hiss as light flooded in her eyes. Christine entered the room, closing the door behind her with a click. She held a plate of food in her opposite hand as well as a glass of water.

"Ellaria said that you weren't feeling well," She said, placing the plate on the bedside table along with the glass. "I thought that you might want something to eat."

Selene was hungry, having slept for so long and neglecting to wake up for breakfast. Her empty stomach growled at the mere mention of food. Selene took the bottle of water first, gulping down half the bottle within seconds. The cold water felt good against her chapped lips, and even better cooling down her dry mouth.

"Thank you." Selene was grateful, she really was.

' _Oh, crud, I forgot to bring her the math homework.'_ Christine's voice filled Selene's head. She wanted to reassure Christine that it was okay, but then firmly remembered that she'd neglected to tell her friend about her abilities.

"You're welcome." Christine smiled. "We were all worried when you didn't show up this morning. Ellaria had to convince me to wait until lunch to see you."

Selene's eyes trailed to the ground where her friend had stayed the night before. The blankets and pillows were gone, now neatly folded and put away. Ellaria really was a good friend. Not many people would stay with her all night. The only other people that Selene could think of that would ever do such a thing for her were her parents and Romy, and all three were a whole dimension away. She missed them. She wanted to see them. She wanted to hear her father humming while he made dinner, and see Romy at her kitchen table with all of her sketchbooks scattered in front of her. She wanted to smell the scent of her mother's perfume, feel familiar arms around her, holding her and making her feel safe. It made her miss everyone terribly, she hoped that maybe she would be allowed to talk to them soon.

"What's for lunch?" Selene asked, eyeing the plate.

"There wasn't much leftover," Christine replied apologetically. "There's some pasta primavera and I saved you some cookies."

Selene smiled and took the plate off the bedside table. She sat up with her legs crossed on the bed, spooning a large portion of the pasta into her mouth. It tasted amazing. While the chefs didn't make pizza or burgers like her school on Earth, she applauded them for making food that didn't taste like cardboard with cheese on it.

"So what did I miss?" Selene questioned, her mouth still half full of pasta.

Christine's face fell a bit.

 _'I shouldn't tell her about it.'_

Selene tried not to react, but it was hard. Something clearly had happened for Christine to think such a thing. But at the same time, was she ready to start telling people about her powers?

"Well, your dance partner missed you." Christine attempted to lighten the mood.

"What did he do in Etiquette without a dance partner?" Selene chuckled.

Christine smiled again. "Oh, Ellaria offered to be his partner in your place. You should have seen Prince Jon's face, he looked like he was about to throw a hissy fit."

The two girls giggled again. Prince Jon was so immature and repulsive that even his intended didn't want to dance with him.

 _'Rhaella shouldn't have said anything, it really wasn't any of her business.'_

Usually, Selene had a good poker face. Usually, she would ignore thoughts when they came. But this time, she couldn't. The second Rhaella's name was mentioned, she knew that witch said something. It shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did, but clearly, there was something that Christine wasn't telling her. But Christine didn't know… But, there was no better time than the present…

"What happened with Rhaella?" Selene questioned.

Christine's eyebrows raised.

' _It was terrible what she said about her and Leo.'_

Selene's eyes narrowed. "What did she say about Leo and I?"

Christine's eyes widened and she let out the tiniest gasp.

 _'How did-'_

"Christine," Selene started, taking her friend's hands in her own. "I think it's time I told you the truth about why I'm here."

Christine stayed silent, millions of thoughts running through her brain all at once.

"I am not here because I want to take back Mewni," Selene explained. "I'm here to learn how to control my mind reading powers."

Christine didn't know what to say. She was expecting Selene to start laughing and tell her it was a joke. But that didn't happen. Selene just stared at Christine, completely and utterly serious. That's when Christine realized that Selene was telling the truth. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it. She wasn't sure what to say. And she had even more questions now than she did before. While it wasn't uncommon for people to have powers in the multiverse, the ability to read minds was still a relatively rare one. It was unexpected to say the least, but not exactly in a bad way.

"So, if that's the case," Christine finally replied. "Then why is King Alexander teaching both you and Leo? Does he have mind reading too?"

Selene shook her head. "It isn't easy to explain…"

Selene didn't even know the full story herself, trying to explain it to Christine wouldn't be easy.

"Our powers are different," Selene started. "Leo has the ability to control fire, so it isn't at all like reading minds. But I think there's more to it that my parents and Alexander aren't telling us and…" Selene paused to catch her breath. "Goodness, I don't even know. I didn't even want to come here, but I had to in order to learn how to control my abilities."

Christine sat in silence, her thoughts completely blank.

"All I know now," Selene continued. "Is that I'm part of something bigger than what I originally intended, and it terrifies me."

Christine wasn't sure what to say. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her into a comforting hug.

"You're strong," Christine told her. "And you're going to be okay, I promise you."

Selene hoped so too.

"So, what happened?" Selene asked again. "What did Rhaella say?"

Christine gulped.

"Well," Christine started. "She apparently saw Leo carrying you and she told everyone that you two were doing... um... things."

Selene's mouth fell open, then she rolled her eyes. She vaguely remembered Leo carrying her to her room after she fainted, and she definitely would have insisted that he put her down had she been fully conscious. But the fact that she wasn't, and now Rhaella was spreading rumours about them doing... things... Honestly, Selene had bigger things to worry about than schoolyard bullies. Sure, it still made her feel awful that people were talking about her, but she had thick skin.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Christine asked.

"No," Selene replied, perhaps a bit more harshly than she meant to. "It doesn't matter. Rhaella can go to- where ever it is vampires go to suffer-"

Selene could tell that Christine wanted to ask more questions, but before she could she was silenced by someone knocking on the door.

"Enter." Selene calls.

The door opens, and Queen Emma stands in the doorway. She is beautiful and regal in a long green dress, her golden tresses piled high on top of her head. Her dark eyes are kind, and the beauty mark on her cheek seems to wiggle as she smiles. Christine bows first, her delicate curtsy is as elegant as she is.

"Hello, Your Grace." She greets, her head still bowed.

"You may rise, my dear." Emma kindly gestures for her to stand. "If it's alright, I must speak with Princess Selene alone."

"Of course," Christine replied. Christine didn't want to leave, but she didn't want to disrespect the Queen. She turned to Selene. "I'll come see you after dinner."

Selene nodded. "Alright."

And with that, Christine left, closing the door behind her. Emma smiled down at Selene and offered her a hand.

"My husband and I have something for you," She chided excitedly. "Someone you'll want to see."

She pulled the covers off and accepted the Queen's hand.

"What?" Selene asked.

"It's a surprise." She replied.

Queen Emma looked like a dainty little thing, but she had quite the strong grip. She seemed so graceful and elegant, but at the same time, she looked like the type of person who can and will make you wish that you had never been born.

Emma leads her down the hallways, although she already knew the way to the King's office it felt better to walk with someone else rather than walk alone. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, there was something about these corridors that made her feel unwelcome and unsafe. She felt almost trapped. And with the feeling of being trapped came the overwhelming need to escape.

"Here we are!" Emma chimed.

She jiggled the door handle before pushing the door open. And there, standing in the middle of the office, was King Alexander, with the best surprise in the world.

"Mom! Dad!" Selene exclaimed.

She barely registered anything else in the room. She ran to her parents, throwing her arms around them. She held onto them so tightly, she was afraid to let go. She had never been hugged so tightly in her life. It made her feel safe. Like every terrible thing that she had been feeling had just melted away. Her mother and father kissed her head and caressed her hair, the way they did when she had nightmares as a child.

"I'm so happy to see you." Selene wiped tears that she hadn't realized were forming in her eyes.

"We're happy to see you too," Her mother's soft voice was comforting, especially now. "Are you alright? Alexander told us everything."

Selene looked between her parents and the King. Had they regretted their decision to let her stay here? Had they come to bring her home?

"I don't know." Selene almost stuttered, the memories of what happened yesterday came crashing down upon her. "I was okay, and then it was like there was someone inside of my head trying to rip me apart."

' _No.'_ She couldn't tell if that was her mom or her dad, they were both looking at her in that way adults do when they tell kids that everything is fine when everything is clearly not fine.

"Did anything else happen after you woke up?" Alexander asked.

Selene opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Emma was the one who opened it, revealing Prince Leo. His eyes widened slightly at the sight behind the door.

"I had a question," He began. "But I'll just come back later."

"Nonsense," Alexander replied, gesturing for his son to come in. "Take a seat, this concerns you as well."

Selene noticed there was a small amount of discomfiture within his step, like he was almost hesitant to step any closer to her. He usually had such confidence and poise, when he entered a room he commanded it. Today, he seemed like a little boy instead of a prince. He shook hands with Star and Marco politely when he introduced himself, but he stayed relatively silent after that.

"Now, Selene, tell me everything you remember." Alexander continued.

Selene drew a long breath.

"I don't remember much," Selene recounted. "Everything hurt, I screamed, the window broke- sorry about that, by the way-" She gestured to the boarded-up windows in Alexander's office. "And then I just remember this woman…"

Both Star and Marco's eyes widened in shock.

"What woman?" her father asked carefully.

"I don't know," Selene replied. "I see her in my dreams. She's always underneath this tree on a hill, and she talks to me."

Alexander's eyes widened. He opened his drawer and dug through it, finally retrieving an old photo from the bottom of the drawer. The picture was faded, but she recognized the scenery. The tree on top of the hill, the same one from her dreams. And sitting underneath that tree, smiling gleefully at the camera. The same dark hair, the same pale and glowing skin. She even had the same warm and gentle smile.

"That's it!" She exclaimed. "That's the tree I see in my dreams! And that's her, that's the woman!"

A grave look crossed Alexander's face. He looked almost hurt. Selene wished that she could read his mind in that moment, she wanted to know what he was thinking.

 _'Selene…'_ That was her mother.

She looked to her parents, who had matching looks of horror painted on their faces. She looked

to Queen Emma, whose hand was covering her mouth, her eyes wide. Then she looked at Leo, who stared back at her with an equally befuddled look on his face.

"That's…" Selene heard her father breathe out.

Alexander sighed heavily.

"That woman," Alexander spoke softly, his voice just above a whisper. "Is my sister. And that tree-" He pointed to the tree in the picture, his voice cracking slightly. "-is the tree she's buried under."

* * *

 **Avery:** dun, dun, dun! Okay, so this had to be cut in half and I thought that this was a good place to cut it. Well, I bid you goodnight! (or whatever time it is where you are!)

Hope that you enjoyed, ill see you in the next one!


	15. The Truth Part IV

The Truth Part IV

 **Avery:** Alrighty my lovelies, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

The room was silent. The air felt still. To Selene, however, everything felt violent. Everyone's thoughts began to rip into her at rapidfire. It was like their thoughts were blades cutting into her skin, bleeding her, tearing her apart. She couldn't hear anything coherent, only obscenities and the occasional whisper of her name. The words made her head ache and spin, she had never felt such discomfort in reading people's thoughts. Selene looked back to the picture. The smiling face of the young woman she had been named for. The woman that would smile at her in her dreams. The one who played in a field of lilies, braiding them into her long, black, hair. The girl who loved sitting under the tree on top of the hill on hot, sunny, summer days. The girl whose body was now laid to rest under that same tree. Selene almost couldn't believe it. When she looked at the picture, she could practically feel the girl's positive energy radiating off of her. She looked so carefree and lovely. And now…

"Dad," Leo meekly broke the silence. Selene turned to look at him. His face was red. She wished more than anything that she could read his thoughts in that moment. "How did Auntie Selene die?"

Alexander noticeably flinched. Selene had never seen him look so sad. He very clearly loved his sister. Maybe that was why he hardly spoke of her, maybe some things were still too painful, even after twenty years. And how could it not be? They were twins. They shared a womb. They came into the world together and there was never any time when they were apart. And then Selene died. And Alexander had to learn how to live without her.

"You didn't tell him?" Star questioned.

' _I thought he would have.'_

Alexander looked up at her. "You didn't tell her."

Star nodded sheepishly. She knew that keeping the truth from these kids any longer was impossible. It had put the both of them in too much danger already. They needed to know the full story. It wasn't going to be easy, Star knew it and so did Alexander. But this was something that had to be explained. Star and Alexander looked at each other, then at the two teenagers sitting in front of them.

"It's difficult to explain," Alexander started. "I've studied this for nearly half of my life, and even I don't completely understand."

Selene looked at him quizzically, then snuck a glance at Leo. There was a certain look of determination on the boy's face, but in his eyes was a gleam of what Selene could almost swear was fear. What could cause this boy who seemed so unbothered with everything to feel scared?

"Your powers don't come from nowhere." He explained softly, running a hand along the surface of his desk, stopping just before where the pile of books lay. "Your powers are instead an ancient thing, an evil thing, a thing that has rested dormant inside of you all your lives."

Alexander's hand rested on top of the pile of books, the ones that contained all the known information about their powers.

"Inside of you, Selene, there lies a being older than the universe." Alexander continued. "A being of pure darkness that leaves only death and destruction in its wake."

The thought sounded ludicrous to Selene. Pure darkness? Leave death and destruction in its wake? Selene wasn't exactly the most angelic person but she wasn't exactly a malicious being, nor host to a dark entity. Sure, she may have cheated on a test once or twice and snuck into the movies with her friends, but that didn't mean she was evil.

"And inside of you, Leo," Alexander continued. "Is a being of light. This being, however, is unstable and angry. Both these beings are at war, and have been for thousands of years."

Selene and Leo shared a glance, both of them furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. There was… something else… The longer Selene stared at him, the more intense the feeling became. It was like she could feel the light inside of him, could sense the being that rested within him. Her eyes widened in shock, as did his. That's when she knew he could feel it too. Sense what was inside of her the way she could to him.

"What do these beings need with us?" Selene questioned.

"They need hosts," Alexander replied, his voice sounded grave. "They haven't had physical forms in thousands of years, so every generation or so they choose two new hosts to inhabit so that they can survive. The spirits are restless, and they won't stop until the other is gone forever."

The two teenagers nodded. Both could feel the familiar chill of fear creeping up their necks, like someone was holding their hand there, about to squeeze the air out of them.

"Of course, they can't truly do away with each other," The way Alexander's voice shook when he spoke scared Selene, she knew he was going somewhere he didn't like. "And they can't control either of you, nor make you do anything you don't want to do. However, they can make you believe there's no alternative."

"How so?" Leo was the one to ask this time, after being relatively silent for most of the conversation.

"The being of light calls himself and Angel," Alexander answered. "While he is not an angel in our sense of the word, he's a bit more humane in the ways he'll convince you to do his bidding. He'll whisper in your ear, turn you against everyone you love, make you believe you're worthless and unloved." The King's gaze is cast down, as though he is reminded of something unpleasant. "The other is not so kind. The being calls itself a demon. It will torture it's host, plague them with terrible night terrors until they do it's bidding. And if they still refuse-"

"It kills them." Selene finished.

Everyone in the room had their eyes on her. She slowly rose from her chair, taking a long, deep, breath as she did. She could feel her legs shaking as if were about to buckle and give way beneath her. But she couldn't sit anymore, she felt too antsy, too aware.

"That thing killed your sister," Selene stated. Alexander nodded. "And now it's going to kill me."

A chorus of _'What!'_ and _'No!'_ filled the air. The adults were all talking over each other, as though all simultaneously trying to convince her otherwise. But Selene didn't listen.

"You're not going to die!" Her mother assured her, her voice panicked. "You're not, I promise you. Everything will be okay."

Selene knew from her mother's thoughts that she was worried her words might not be true. As much as she wanted to believe what she was saying, there was no guarantee.

"Selene, we are going to find another way." King Alexander sounded so sure of himself.

But Selene had figured it out. She knew exactly what was going to happen. She didn't like it.

Selene looked down at Leo, his wide eyes looked up at her. He didn't seem afraid of her, nor confused. Selene couldn't quite pinpoint the emotion behind his eyes. Regardless, it filled her with unease. She looked at him for a long time, never breaking eye contact, like they were two children playing a game. How she wished this were the case. That they really were just children and this really was just some silly game. But it wasn't. This was something greater than the both of them. There was a powerful bond that connected them, neither of them could deny it. They both felt it, the light and darkness within each other. It was a repulsive feeling that would eventually tear them to pieces. Looking at him, an intense fear began to wash over Selene. Although she was scared, she knew exactly what she had to do.

"I want to go home." She didn't look at either of her parents when she spoke.

She saw Alexander's eyes widen and Leo shaking his head.

"Selene." Her father spoke with urgency in his voice.

"No!" She exclaimed. "I am returning to Earth and that is final."

She turned on her heel and began to storm out of the room.

"Wait, Selene!"

What did he want?

She stood in the doorway, turning only her head to look at him.

"Don't, Leo." Selene spat. "I never want to see you ever again."

With that, Selene left the room, slamming the door a bit too harshly behind her. And then she ran. Her shoes clicked on the tile floor as she sprinted. She ran until her feet were sore and her lungs felt like rubber, and she still kept running. She ran through the narrow, winding, corridors until she reached the doors. She pushed them open and out into the back garden.

The back garden was nice. Filled with topiaries and a variety of different coloured flower beds. There was a fountain at the centre, a large stone cryptid that Selene didn't know the name of spurt water out of its mouth. She wondered if it would be worth it to drop a penny in there, even if wishes were completely bogus. Selene stopped running when she neared the gazebo, the small structure was surrounded by purple lilacs, pansies, and daisies. She allowed herself to relax and take in their sweet scent. But she couldn't relax. How could she? Now that she knew the truth. She wasn't mad at her parents, far from it, but why would they send her here knowing the truth? She was just going to die. If there was no way Selene could be saved, then at least she could save-

Selene sighed, collapsing down to the grass. The blades of grass tickled her knees as they brushed against her skin. She picked a few blades, suddenly reminded of when she was a child, making chains out of dandelions and believing that anything was possible. When she was a child, she believed in fairytales. She wanted to be a princess with magical powers at one point in her life. Now she just wished that all of it would go away.

She would figure out how to turn off the mind reading another way. Right now she had to leave. She had to go back to Earth. She thought about Ellaria, and Christine, and Eliot. How she wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to them. She'd write them a letter, explaining everything that she could. They would understand, hopefully. She never did get around to telling Eliot the truth about her powers, that would be an interesting thing to explain in a letter. She hoped that they would understand. And maybe they could see each other again, maybe they could still be friends.

Selene shook her head. No. She couldn't have any sort of connection to this world anymore. She had to keep all traces of magic locked away. She could do what her mom did and lock everything magic related up and never think about it again. Although, maybe it would be better to just destroy it entirely. It was the only way to ensure that she would never, ever, be in contact with this world again. That would be too dangerous. She had to close herself off. Go back to being a normal human girl on Earth with her normal human Earth friends. She had to forget about this world. She had to forget about all of the great friends she met.

She had to-

"Hey."

Selene's head shot up at the sound of his voice.

How can a boy look so regal and at the same time look, sad? Scared? She still couldn't tell what the emotion was. His silvery hair framed his face so elegantly, his skin seemed to glimmer in the sunlight. She should have known he would follow her. Couldn't they just go back to the days before, when he completely ignored her and wanted nothing to do with her? He stepped forward with caution, as if she was a venomous snake that might bite him at any moment.

"May I sit?" He asked.

"Sure." She replied.

He sat down next to her, his knee gently bumping her's. She looked up at him with apprehension in her eyes. She didn't want to start anything with him. Especially not now.

"What do you want, Leo?" She didn't mean to sound as annoyed as she did.

"I just wanted to tell you," He started. "That your parents will take you home for a time if that's what you feel you need."

A time? That made it sound like she was taking a break. She needed to be gone, forever.

Selene shook her head. "Not for a time. Indefinitely."

"Selene, my father said he needs to train both of us." Leo tried to explain, but Selene wouldn't listen.  
"You didn't even want to train with me!" She exclaimed. "You've wanted me out of your hair since the second I stepped foot in this dimension, shouldn't you be happy that I want to leave?"

Leo stayed silent for a minute. He looked down at the grass, then looked at her.

"Please," He begged. "Just give me a reason."

Selene looked at him. He really didn't get it, did he?

He hadn't put the pieces together.

"Leo," Selene stared at the grass, gripping a large chunk of grass in her fist. "If we stay here together, one of us is going to die, or both of us. And if what your father says is true it might be at the hand of the other. Which is why I need to leave and why I can never see you again!"

Her voice quivered more and more with each word she spoke. She sounded like she might cry. Leo stared at her with wide eyes. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak. Because he knew that what she said was true.

"I may not like you that much," Selene's voice cracked. "But I don't want to kill you!"

That's when the fear in his eyes became clear as day. And she knew he was thinking the same thing.

Then, he did the most unexpected thing. He hugged her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. Selene's entire body began shaking in his grasp, and she could have sworn she saw something like compassion in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," He whispered. "I don't want to kill you either."

It was a small gesture, but definitely the nicest thing he'd ever said to her.

* * *

 **Avery:** And that is chapter 15, I hope you enjoyed!


	16. The Way Home

The Way Home

 **Avery:** A short chapter that took a month to write because I have had zero time. Apologies my friends, it is hard to write when you are a full-time student with a job. So, in this chapter, Selene has gone back home to visit her family, and now she has to make a choice. I hope you enjoy chapter 16!

* * *

Selene had forgotten how quiet her room was. In the dorms at Mewni there is always noise. There are people talking in their rooms, walking up and down the hallway, sometimes she can hear music late at night. It's nice to hear people, to know that she isn't alone in this mysterious place so far from home. But it feels good to be back in her room. The silence is comforting and her sheets smell like the lavender laundry detergent her mother loves so much. The view outside of her window is exactly as she remembers it. It's early October now, meaning the temperature is just starting to drop. It doesn't get too cold in California, but Selene prefers it to the unbearably hot sun of the summer. It's nice and familiar. It's home.

Of course, she's only here for the weekend. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy it.

She remembered Leo's face just before she stepped into the portal. The way he had smiled at her, he looked so scared. She knew that she was scared as well, and rightfully should be. They were connected now, in a way they hadn't been previously. She still didn't necessarily like him, but she understood that there was something between them that neither of them could control. She remembered her parents, the way they held her hands as they stepped into the portal, leading her back to a place of warmth and security. She remembered their thoughts. A mixture of regret of sending her away, wondering if it would really be a help to her to stay in Mewni.

They were considering bringing her home.

She hadn't fully learned how to control her powers, and then there was something in her head that may or may not have been threatening to kill her. But maybe they could keep her safe here. And Selene, well, she didn't know what to think anymore. If she continued at that school in Mewni she could hurt Leo, or someone else. If she decided to go home, then she wouldn't see her friends anymore and she wouldn't learn how to control this mind-reading ability.

This wasn't going to be an easy decision.

Selene lay on her bed, hugging the stuffed bear she loved so much close to her chest. Her parents had left her alone as soon as they got back home, realizing that she probably wanted some privacy after everything that had happened. She closed her eyes, trying to envision the things she had seen in the darkness. She pictured the Princess's face. Selene of Byzantium was the prettiest girl she had ever laid eyes on. She remembered seeing her memories. Sitting under that tree on the hill with her brother. The tree that she would be buried under. That thought made her heart feel heavy in her chest. She wondered if Selene could have been saved. If they all could be saved.

The sun was setting when there was a knock on Selene's bedroom door.

She sat up in her bed to see her mom, she smiled, baring her teeth slightly. Star sat down on the bed next to her daughter.

"Dinner is ready," Star informed her. "Romy is here with her moms, they all want to hear about Mewni."

Selene nodded. There was more. Selene could feel it.

"Your father and I talked," Star continued. "And if you really want to, you can move back home and we'll figure out how to control your powers together."

Selene smiled, she really did have a great mom. She wrapped her arms around her mother, pulling her into a tight hug. She missed this. She missed the smell of her mom's perfume, and the calming way she stroked her hair, and the light kisses she placed on her forehead. Selene had a lot to think about, she knew it wasn't going to be easy. She didn't want to endanger anyone, but she also wanted to learn how to control her powers. Really, she wasn't sure whether or not she should stay or go.

"What do you think?" Selene pondered, looking up at her mom.

"Oh," Star hummed in response.

 _'I don't want to influence her decision._ '

"You're not, don't worry," Selene encouraged. "Just tell me how you feel."

Listening to people's thoughts felt so intrusive. It sometimes made Selene feel disgusted with herself for listening to things that people wanted to keep private.

 _'I don't want to become her.'_

"Mom, you're not her, I promise," Selene reassured, taking her mom's hands in her's. "I know, about Grandma, I know the past."

Selene recognized the look of astonishment in her mother's eyes, and she continued.

"I'm sorry that she was so terrible to you, Mom. I'm sorry she took all of that anger and hatred for her life on you, you didn't deserve it." She saw tears beginning to form in her Mom's eyes, and she carefully wiped them away, similar to what her mother did for her when she would cry as a child. "It wasn't your fault. And you are absolutely the farthest thing from her."

Star smiled graciously. "You are extraordinary." She told Selene.

"I love you, Mom."

"And I love you." Star kissed Selene's head and then stood up from the bed. "Now, time for dinner."

Star offered Selene her hand, which she gladly accepted. The second Selene got to the bottom of the stairs she was attacked in the best bear hug she'd ever received.

"I missed you so much!" Her best friend exclaimed. "Our D&D group sucks without you!"

"I was never good at D&D and you know it." Selene laughs.

"Well, now you're an actual real life D&D character," Romy chides. "So you'll be infinitely better. Maybe we should start recording our sessions, we could be the next Critical Role!"

Selene smirks, realizing that she has missed this so desperately. She has wanted to see her best friend since the second she left. And she's glad that Romy is treating her the same, it feels good to have a sense of normalcy.

In the kitchen, Marco is sitting at the table with Jackie and Janna. The two look exactly the same, except for the fact that Janna is wearing a hat made of tin foil on her head.

"What are you wearing?" Selene asked.

"I wanted to see wearing a tin foil hat actually stops people from reading my mind, like in the movies," Janna explained matter-of-factly.

Jackie facepalmed. "I told her not to wear it."

' _I'm a genius_.'

"It doesn't work, genius." Selene replied, taking her seat.

' _Dang it.'_

Janna grumbled, looking slightly disappointed as she crumpled the hat into a ball.

Dinner is about as normal as it possibly can be. Romy talks about the first month of high school, how it's already unbearable and she has no idea how she's supposed to survive four whole years of this. She tells Selene that she's excited for her to join her next year.

Romy asks about Mewni. About magic and other dimensions. She thinks that it's completely fascinating, and holds on to every word Selene says. Her eyes seem to light up with a sort of childlike wonder. Selene realizes that this is probably what she looked like when she heard about magic for the first time. It's amazing that it all just feels normal now to her. Seeing Romy's complete fascination with magic is heartwarming.

And then, she mentions the wand, and Romy nearly jumps out of her seat.

"You have a wand?!" Romy exclaims.

"Yes." Selene nods.

"Do you have in with you?" Romy continues, her eyes impossibly wide.

"It's in my overnight bag." She replies.

Romy is out of her seat and tugging Selene by the arm in less than a second.

"Well, you have to show me!" Romy roared excitedly.

Selene had only seen her best friend so ecstatic a handful of times, and all of those were at Disneyland. Romy seemed to acquire superhuman strength whenever she was really excited about something, and she was about two seconds away from tearing off Selene's arm. The discomfort she felt pushed aside in favour of happiness for her best friend, who was practically shaking.

"May we be excused?" Selene asked politely.

Her parents smiled at her.

"Of course. But no spells that you can't easily undo." Star warned. "I don't want to come up there and find you with tentacles for arms."

"Tentacles for arms?" Selene shuddered at the absolutely terrifying thought.

"It happens." Marco sighed.

With that, Selene and Romy ran up the stairs to her bedroom. Selene's wand hadn't been used too much outside of her classroom, but she was pretty confident with the easy spells. Romy gasped when she saw it. The wand felt lighter in her hands than it usually did, more like it belonged there.

"Do you want to touch it?" Selene asked.

Romy nodded enthusiastically. She smiled and took the wand from Selene's hands. She giggled and stood up, quickly striking the pose she knew from memory.

"In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" She exclaimed.

Selene chuckled. "You are such a dork."

"I'm your dork." Romy replied with a wink. "So how does it work? Do you just say bippity boppity boo and get anything you want?"

"No," Selene told her firmly, taking the wand back from her. "Unfortunately, magic doesn't work like that."

"So how does it work?" Romy asked, sitting next to Selene on the bed.

Selene looked around the room, spying the gummy worms that she'd left on the nightstand earlier.

"Do you want a gummy worm?" Selene asked.

"Is that even a question?" Romy scoffed.

She moved to grab the bag, but Selene stopped her. She pointed her wand at the bag and focused all of her energy into the wand. Slowly, the bag began to glow and shake, rising ever so slightly off the nightstand and hovering in midair. Romy gasped loudly, and Selene couldn't help but smirk. The bag floated closer to them. Selene looked at Romy, who stared in complete and utter disbelief. The bag descended into her lap.

"Bon Appetit!" Selene smiled at her positively stunned best friend.

"You're freaking magic!" Romy jumped up and down with excitement. "You're like Harry Potter or something."

Selene smiled again. She missed just talking to her best friend in her bedroom. There were some sleepovers when they would stay up till the early hours of the morning talking. No matter how long they were together they seemed to never run out of things to talk about. If she left, this would end. It wouldn't end forever, obviously, but she wouldn't be seeing her best friend for a very long time. She wondered what it would be like to be gone for the rest of the year. She had never been away from Romy for that long. They were more than just friends, they were sisters. And being away from her, being away from family, was the hardest thing that either of them would face. Selene was even more torn now. If she stayed then she would miss her new friends, and if she left she'd miss her old.

She had a very hard decision to make.

But not yet.

"Do you want to see another spell?"

Romy nodded eagerly, and Selene smiled.

* * *

 **Avery:** Okay, so fun fact, I originally had it in my rough draft from a long time ago that Romy and Selene were actually biological sisters. The story was going to go that when Jackie and Janna decided that they wanted a baby they wanted to do IVF but they didn't want to use an anonymous donor so Marco offered to help them but I scraped that storyline because I don't think that Jackie nor Janna would ever want to be pregnant. So Romy is now adopted, but she and Selene still fell like sisters.

Thats all for now! Have a good day!


	17. The Hard Decision

The Hard Decision

 **Avery:** Alright, I am sorry that this update is a month late and is late but I recently moved to the other side of the country and that is no easy task. But I'm doing wonderfully, I'm settling in well and so is my partner and our lovely little kitty.

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

It had been a long time since she had a sleepover with her best friend. It was comforting to have Romy there with her. Her arms around her, holding her protectively. It made her feel safe and happy. If she stayed she could feel safe again. She wouldn't be scared anymore. Sure, she would still have these powers, but it might not be too bad. She missed hot showers and sugary cereal, and cheeseburgers and pizza. She had to admit, she was increasingly more tempted to stay here. She was happy here, at home with her best friend. But even being curled around her best friend, the safest place in the world, could not chase away Selene's terrible nightmares.

The wind howled loudly, whipping at every part of her body, ripping through her. The air felt unbreathable, like the world was trying to suffocate her. Everything was dark. She could see nothing in front of her face. She wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. She tried so hard to scream. Her throat burned and ached, but nothing came out. She felt her heart beating erratically in her chest, her head stung and she began to feel dizzy. Everything felt so light. She didn't know where she was. Normally in these dreams she saw a hill and a tree, sometimes flowers and a grave. But tonight, all she saw was black nothingness. It was like being completely blind. She tried to move. To take a step forward, but her entire body was completely paralyzed. She was terrified. She had no idea what was going on.

"Selene." She heard the voice whisper cryptically.

She tried to call out again, but she could still say nothing.

"Selene!"

Her head spun wildly, her thoughts whirling out of control. She felt something drip from her nose, she wondered if her nose was bleeding. She still couldn't move.

"Come here!"

The last thing she registered was the tears falling from her eyes before she felt herself falling into oblivion.

"Selene?"

Her eyes opened. The wind was gone, the black nothing was gone as well. Instead it was replaced with infinite blue sky and the bright shining sun. She was lying on the plush green grass, the blades tickling her ears as she lay on the ground. It smelled like morning dew and flowers. Everything was soft. She was back on the hill, under the shade of the tree.

And she wasn't alone.

A figure stood over her. Her long black hair elegantly braided around the crown of her head. Her eyes seemed to change from blue to grey to brown. She seemed to possess a mysterious aura, beautiful and ethereal. She seemed to glow as though she were some otherworldly being. Selene wondered if it was merely a trick of the light or not. The beautiful woman wore a long white dress and smiled with perfect pink lips. She was perfectly lovely and looked like the perfect princess.

Selene sat up slowly, her head still stinging. Her chest felt odd, like she had been inhaling smoke, her lungs felt like rubber. She looked up at the woman, extremely curious now that she knew who this was.

"You're Selene." She stated.

The woman's smile widened. "So are you."

The woman smoothed out her skirt and gracefully sat down next to Selene. She seemed so delicate. Everything from her unblemished skin and curious eyes seemed to fill the young girl with a sense of wonder. She had never seen a woman more beautiful.

"I've met your brother," Selene told the Princess. "He misses you."

The woman nodded, looking down at her lap. "I'm sure he does."

"He told me about you," Selene continued. "About this place. He told me about what happened to you."

"Did he tell you about how it happened?" The woman asked.

"Just a bit." Selene responded, mindlessly pulling grass blades.

The elder Selene nodded. "Would you like to know what happened?"

Selene did want to know. She wanted to know the full story, about what happened and why.

"I will tell you." The woman continued. "As you know, I was born with powers beyond my control or comprehension. I struggled with them my entire life. There was always something inside of me, calling to me, seducing me into doing things that were terribly wicked." Selene then paused, averting her gaze from the younger girl. "I killed my own father. The demon forced me to do it. It- it tried to get me to kill my brother and your mother, although her uncle tried to beat me to it by poisoning their wedding chalaces." She paused again, pressing her lips together. "That was the day I died."

"Is there a way to stop it?" Selene asked.

The older woman opened her mouth to speak, but Selene interrupted her.

"The truth, please." Selene demanded. "Please, I know that my parents and Alexander want to protect me but I want the truth."

The elder Selene's face fell. And Selene believed that she had her answer. Sighing, she slumped where she sat under the tree. Her entire stay in Mewni had made her feel like she had to sit up straight, and it was starting to become habit, but Selene still slouched more often than not. If there really was no way to help herself, than Selene was thoroughly convinced that it would be wise to leave that school, to leave Mewni. At least then she couldn't hurt her friends. Or Leo.

"What are you doing then?" She questioned. If there was no way to save herself, than what was the point? "Why are you here?"

The woman looked out beyond the hill, her hair dancing lazily in the wind.

"I want to help you." She replied, her eyes turning a light shade of green. "It was hard for me to control these powers as well, it definitely wasn't easy."

Selene nodded, waiting for the woman to continue.

"I understand why you want to run," She continued. "There were times when I wanted to run too, the things that the voice said about my brother were horrendous. And I know that nothing good can come from going back, but you need to."

Selene looked at the woman quizzically. Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Because you need to know the truth," The woman attempted to convince her. "If you stay on Earth, if you don't go back to Mewni, then Leo is going to die."

Selene couldn't believe what she was hearing. Leo would die? But how? The only person who could kill him was whatever was inside of her, and if she went back he would just be in more danger. Selene looked into the woman's stunning green eyes, they looked almost panicked. How could someone look so angelic and at the same time so anxious?

"The Angel can't kill him," The woman clarified. "But the two of you exist in a balance, you can't exist apart, you must exist together."

"But the Angel and Demon want us to kill each other." Selene protested.

"They do," The woman nodded. "But they also can't live without each other while the other survives. If they are apart they die, and you will both die with them."  
Selene gasped. She didn't like what was being implied. "Are you saying that I would die as well?"

"Precisely." She replied. "The balance must be kept."

Selene felt her entire body freeze.

"But why?" She asked.

The older Selene smiled. "You are connected. The Angel and the Demon are mortal enemies, but they are also two sides of the same coin."

Two halves of a whole. Two parts of the same soul. Without her he would die. Without him she would die.

"I have to go back." Selene realized, standing up from where she sat abruptly. "I have to go back to Mewni."

Selene turned around to look at her namesake, a smile crossed the woman's face.

"Thank you," The elder Selene said gratefully. "The sooner you return, the sooner you can help my nephew."

The woman stood up, dusting the dirt off of her skirt as she did.

"You should be going," She told the teen. "It's almost morning."

Selene nodded. But she had one more question. One last thing that had been prodding at her brain since she arrived here.

"Why couldn't I look at King Alexander's book?" She asked. "Why did my body react the way that it did?"

The woman's smile fell, her face became grave.

"It's a defense mechanism," She explained. "The book was written by the Angels in ancient times and if any Demon tries to read it they'd experience pain, fainting, everything that you felt. They couldn't risk anyone finding out their secrets. Only a chosen few were ever able to decipher it."

Selene nodded in understanding. But still confused about a few things regarding the book.

"Why can't Alexander read it?" She questioned.

"He was not chosen." The elder Selene replied simply, her voice sounding grave.

Selene looked away after that, her eyes focused on the bright blue sky. The world that Selene remembered was beautiful. She could understand why one might want to spend eternity here. The young girl was still rather confused about how Alexander could not his own book if it was made for Angels to read. Oh, how she wished that she had more time with Selene on these nights. She wanted to ask her more questions, find out more about the power she possessed, about Alexander and Leo. She wanted to know so much. Selene turned back to the woman to ask her another question, but there was nothing next to her but air.

Selene had vanished into thin air.

"Selene?" The fourteen year old called out.

She stood up abruptly, frantically searching the area for her mentor.

"Selene!"

A hand shaking her violently pulled the girl into consciousness. Selene opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. Romy was looking at her with a concerned frown on her face.

"Are you okay?" Romy asked. "You were screaming in your sleep. It was like you were having a nightmare."

Selene rubbed her eyes and slipped out from underneath the duvet, suddenly feeling way too hot in her room. She locked eyes with Romy. She was nervous, but she knew what had to be done.

"I have to go back to Mewni." Selene told her best friend.

Romy's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

Selene didn't want to alarm her best friend. She could see what was in her mind, the fear and the concern. The worry that perhaps this wasn't a good idea. Heck, maybe it wasn't. Romy's thoughts were a mess, but one intrusive thought pushed passed all the others.

'Is she in trouble? Am I going to lose her?'

Selene hugged her best friend close to her chest, softly caressing her dark tresses.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me." Selene assured her.

She could feel the tears beginning to prickle in her eyes.

"I promise."

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 **Avery:** *aggressively shoves yin yang imagery into story* Okay, so I hope you enjoy. I wonder how Leo will take the news that they might die?

Also, it's like 2 in the morning June 1st so happy pride month yall!


	18. The Unspoken Thing

The Unspoken Thing

 **Avery:** No updates all summer cuz moving sucks and so does adjusting to a new job but everything is really good now and I'm super happy :)

Enjoy!

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Star would be lying if she said that she wasn't scared to send Selene back to Mewni. There was something haunting her young daughter, something that was terrorizing her mind and there was nothing she could do to stop it. It completely and utterly broke her heart to witness the pain and anguish that Selene would go through. It ached like someone had stabbed her right in the chest, slowly twisting the knife. She wanted to keep Selene close, but there was nothing she could do. Star was reminded of the days when she had to chase away her baby's nightmares and vanquish the monsters under the bed. Except now the monsters were real, and there was nothing Star could do to rid Selene of the terrible nightmares. Now she knew how Alexander had felt all those years ago, having to worry about his sister's unknown abilities. And even after his twin had died, Alex spent years looking into what hurt his sister. There was nothing worse than the unknown, especially when it came to your baby. Now, all she could do was trust. Trust that Alexander could help them. Trust that Selene could and would resist the entity inside of her. Trust that the advice her daughter had been given was accurate. If what Selene had said was true, and it would be worse to keep her and Leo appart than to keep them together, then, well, she wasn't sure what the best thing to do was. She was a parent. She was supposed to know what was best for her daughter. But neither option seemed like the right option.

So she went with the one that seemed the safest. And that was sending Selene back to Mewni.

The air felt cooler the second the family stepped through the portal that Sunday evening. Star could feel Selene shivering, even in the oversized sweater hanging off her small frame. The sweater was an ugly mustard yellow with some university's name printed on it in big green letters. The sweater fit more like a dress on her, falling so low that it almost covered her shorts. Selene had pulled her hair back into a tight bun on top of her head. Star looked at her daughter, she could tell that the young girl was hesitant, but she was ready. She had forgotten that Mewni was significantly colder than California. Selene would miss that perfect autumn weather, not too hot or too cold. She wondered if it snowed in Mewni. And not the light snowfall she would occasionally see on the coldest of days, but the real heavy snowfall like the ones up north, harsh enough to cancel school and close roads.

Selene felt so small standing in front of the castle. It truly was something to behold, like something out of a fairytale. The princess in a tower. A beautiful cage for a beautiful girl. Except she's cursed and prince charming can't break the curse without killing her or himself. Wait, did she just refer to Leo as Prince Charming? She internally laughed at the concept. He was anything but.

"Selene!" She heard an excited voice call.

Selene looked forward and smiled, dropping her bag as she ran forward. Ellaria, Christine, and Eliot were waiting for her with King Alexander and Queen Emma. The three teens engulfed their friend in the tightest group hug ever, their warm embraces chasing away the cold chill of the evening air. Selene couldn't stop smiling. The past weeks had been terrible, but this right here, being surrounded by love, made it all feel so minor.

Now how did she tell them that she might die? Or that she might have to kill her classmate?

She tried her best to shake such thoughts from her mind, try to focus on her friends. She knew that she had to tell them soon. They didn't have long before something, she wasn't quite sure what, was going to happen.

"I'm glad you're back." Alexander spoke after the teens broke their hug.

He stood in front of Selene, looking regal in his long cloak. Selene tried her best to smile for him, even though something in the deepest corners of her mind was reminding her that she may be forced to kill his son. The thought filled her with guilt, she knew that she couldn't kill, and she hoped she wouldn't. Maybe he knew all of this already. But if that were so, how is he looking at her so calmly if he knows that she's the reason why his only child might die?

"I'm glad that I'm back as well." Selene tried to sound sincere, but she couldn't. If Alexander had noticed, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Come on Sel," Christine smiled and took Selene's hand. "We saved you some cookies from dinner."

Selene was happy that her friends cared so much, they reminded her of the friends that she had on Earth. She wanted so greatly for their circumstances to be different. That they could be carefree teenagers like they should be. But she knew that everything here was a ticking time bomb, counting down to the inevitable storm of destruction. There was nothing that could keep her friends safe.

Once inside the castle, the cold air melted away into a comfortable heat. Selene sighed and pulled her hoodie over her head, tying it around her waist. She immediately felt cold again in just her tee shirt and shorts, but didn't feel like putting her sweater back on. Her parents, along with Alexander and Emma followed the young teens closely, as if watching for the tiniest change in Selene's behaviour. Never had Selene's parents kept such close tabs on her. And now they were eyeing her like a hawk, it made her feel uneasy, or worse, like a villain. She hadn't even thought about that before, was she the true villain in this fairytale? She was far from being the perfect princess. She didn't know which fork was for salad and which spoon was for soup, her posture was atrocious, and she was far from the ethereal talking with birds and bunnies type that existed only in Disney movies. She knew that meant nothing in the long run, but she did have a demon inside of her head with potentially murderous tendencies. That definitely has the workings of a potential villain.

"Selene!" She heard a voice call.

She turned around to see Leo, standing beside one of the grand staircases. He silently waved him over. Selene internally groaned, she hoped that she wouldn't have to see him again this early. She knew that this confrontation was coming, and she sort of hoped that she could wait until the last possible moment before talking to him about the things she'd heard in her dreams. But she knew the type of person that Leo was, he wasn't going to give her time to process the information for herself. She turned to her friends and parents.

"I'll meet you in the dining hall." Selene told them.

"Are you sure?" Eliot asked. "We could wait for you."

Ellaria was grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hallway before he could say anything else. Leaving a very confused Christine. She raised her eyebrows at Selene and began to open her mouth to say something.

"Go with them," Selene interrupted. "I'll explain later, I promise."

Christine nodded begrudgingly and ran off after Ellaria and Eliot. Leo approached her once they were gone, glancing awkwardly between his parents, Selene, and her parents.

"Do you want us to stay too?" Selene heard her father ask. "Or-"

"I think we should get some cookies as well." Star interjected, pulling her husband away.

' _This is a conversation they probably want to have alone.'_

Selene sighed, at least her mom was still her mom.

Once the adults were gone, Leo offered Selene his arm, a gesture that surprised the young girl to the point where she nearly jumped backwards.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I thought maybe we could walk and.. uh... kinda silly idea I guess."

"No, no," Selene could feel her face burning. "I guess, it surprised me."

Why was she stammering so much?

The two just nodded awkwardly at each other before continuing down the hallway, their arms hanging limply at their sides. She wasn't sure what to even say or who should talk first. How about 'Hey Leo, I came back because if I stay we die and if I leave we die?' Yup, this was going to be completely awful and awkward. She looked down at the floor, counting marble floor tiles as they walked in silence. Never has the sound of footsteps echoing in a hallway sounded so loud, reverberating back and ringing in her ears as it did. She knew that this had to happen. They had to say something. Selene tried to subtly wipe her sweaty palms on her jeans. How much did she wish that she could just read his mind.

The two teens ended up in the ballroom, the empty room felt so daunting, but at least they wouldn't be bothered. Students weren't allowed in the ballroom without permission. She felt so nervous and dizzy, like someone was spinning her, around and around like that teacup ride at Disneyland.

"So-"

"I thought-"

The teens spoke at the same time, their eyes still glued to their feet and their faces burning as red as tomatoes.

"I.. um.."

"Sorry!"

The two looked up for a split second, brown eyes meeting gold before quickly looking away.

"You go first.." Leo practically squeaked, mentally cursing his overly pale skin for making it impossible to hide a blush as he self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck.

Selene didn't notice. She did notice his hard exterior slowly fading away. There was something warm in his normally cold expression, like he was concerned. Of course, he was scared. She was too. Who wouldn't be in their situation?

"Should we sit?" Selene asked, gesturing to the settee against the wall.

Leo nodded sheepishly, and the two took a seat as far apart as two humans could possibly sit. Sitting this far apart in a room made for dancing gave Selene flashbacks to awkward middle school dances. Except this time she didn't have braces, and Ed Sheeran wasn't being blasted in her ears, and her friends weren't literally pushing her to dance with the boy she liked.

"What did she say to you?" Leo asked. "In your dreams?"

Selene glanced up, looking at him through her eyelashes. She was hesitant, but he deserved the truth.

"We shouldn't be apart," Selene explained. "Our life forces need to feed off the other in order to live. She said that the light in you needs the darkness in me."

Leo stayed silent, nodding his head. He understood, it made sense that the Angel and Demon had to be together in order to survive, otherwise hosts could probably just ignore each other forever and never do the other's bidding. He had to trust her on this, it wasn't like he had a dead entity that visited him in his dreams at night.

"Did she say anything else?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"Not much." Selene continued. "Just that we're dead if we stay together and we're dead if we don't."

"Wonderful." Leo sarcastically spat.

The slow sound of a violin and piano slowly pulled the two teens from their personal bubble. They turned to the source of the noise, a piano sat against the far wall of the room, along with a violin, cello, and harp for live music during festivities. Except nobody was in the room with them. Selene froze, she couldn't even breathe. The instruments were playing by themselves.

"Crap, we woke them up." Leo sighed, standing up from the settee.

"Woke them up?" Selene questioned. "Are your instruments alive?"

"No, they're just charmed to play whenever they hear people." Leo began to sway in time with the music. "Come on, get up."

She thought his urging her to get up was strange.

"Why are you dancing?" She asked.

"It's the only way to get them to stop," Leo responded, simply. "Now, get up."

He reached over and grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet. His hands felt warm and kind of soft? What was she thinking? Let go of his hands! But she didn't. Instead, she allowed her body to relax and sway with him. His hands slowly moved to her waist and hers travelled up to rest on his shoulders. She had danced with boys before, at middle school dances with some cheesy top 40 hit playing too loudly in the background, but this didn't feel like that. Those felt awkward and weird, and she never once looked in the boy's eyes. But Leo made her almost feel comfortable. Like every single problem they had melted away by whatever was happening between them. She may not have liked him very much when she met him, but they were connected in a way that neither of them could quite comprehend.

Neither of them noticed when the music stopped, neither of them let go. It was as though they were completely enraptured by each other. They were so close, it was like his golden eyes were hypnotizing her. From up close, the boy looked almost ethereal. He really did look like an-

"Angel." Selene gasped, breaking away from Leo's grasp.

"What?" Leo had been taken aback by the sudden rush of emotions that had quickly flown through him.

"She told me about the book." Selene chided excitedly. "She told me that only a chosen Angel could read your father's book, that's why he could never decipher it."

Leo's face crumpled up in confusion before the creases slowly faded, replaced by understanding.

"Maybe," He replied. "I could try to decipher it."

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 **Avery:** So we're actually nearing the end of the story soon. I only planned maybe 20 chapters, i might have to stretch it out to 21 or so but this is gonna be wrapped up within the next couple of chapters.

I hope that you enjoyed, keep in mind i'm still trying to get stuff done over here so don't worry if you don't see a new update immediately.

Until next time, my pretties!


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